The Life Ahead Of Us
by Nath8
Summary: Arthur is finally back, and now Merlin is surrounded with all those old friends and enemies. Things might be very different in this new life. Merlin is the only one who knows about the past, but he doesn't know about the future.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey amazing persons! That's my first fanfiction in English (because that's not my first language), so I'm sorry for any error. I'm truly doing my best to write it correctly. **

**The story begins after the end of the series.**

**I can warn you Mergana, Arwen and Lancelot x Gwen, and perhaps other ships in the way.**

**Hope you like it :)**

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: Starbucks**

It had past more time that he could get track. The last look at Arthur's face was still stuck at his mind. The once and Future King one day will be back... But when?

He was now an old man with a lot to tell but no one to talk to. After a long time of waiting he felt a weird sensation, the feeling that for him was a warning that Arthur was finally back. He felt it in the end of the 80's and he had searched for him in all the places ever imagine since them. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed.

* * *

It was morning and Merlin was walking with fast steps to buy his coffee. He loved to drink a great espresso before keep with his search for Arthur.

When the lady from Starbucks was giving his change, his heart stopped for a second. In the entrance of the place he saw two familiar faces that even with the long time gone, he would never forget. No. He still could remember her face perfectly, the sweet smile that she was giving for the gentlemen in front her, the most honor man that he ever met, it all still fresh in his mind.

The coffee in his cup shed. His hands shaking, _'That must be them'_, he thought. A girl next to him asked if he was alright. He nodded.

Not looking back, he run to the couple talking happily. That's it. It's them, but what's the next step?

He stopped in front of them with wild eyes. Not knowing from where that old man came from they just smiled at him, awkwardly. 'I'm sorry sir, are you okay?' she asked, noticing his shaking hands.  
'Yes', he answered, 'I'm sorry young lady, but what's your name?' it was a ridiculous question, he thought. It was her, it had to be, but she would never have the same name of her past life. Mostly because it would be odd if all of them come back with the same name.  
'I'm Gwen' she answered sweetly 'And this is my boyfriend, Lancelot. Do you want other coffee? It seems that yours just shed'  
He still had the empty cup in his hands. _'Great'_ he thought, that would be a great excuse to know more about them.  
'Thank you, I would be very thankful' he smiled.  
She watched him for a few seconds, then took a couple of dollars from her bag 'Here' she said 'Have yourself some cookies too, it's delicious, I can tell you'.

Lancelot nodded with a smile, and she signed sweetly. Both of them walked away.

* * *

_Great_, they probably think that he's an insane and homeless old man. Indeed he was homeless, but he wasn't insane, even though he acted like one. He had the chance to know more about their new life; the chance to know if they know Arthur and he blew it.  
He needed a plan. Be old, homeless and dirty wasn't the perfect role model to the society. People always look at him differently everywhere he goes. Even thought he had met a lot of nice people in his travels, most of the persons hesitate to get closer to him. It wasn't easy to be a homeless old man, it was quite lonely, and he was lonely.  
Maybe if he was younger he would have the chance to get closer to them with not much problem, and that's what he did.  
He took the book that he needed from his bag and searched for the spell. It was suppose to work for only a certain time, but for a great sorcerer like him, it could last forever. He didn't need this all, not when he didn't had anyone to share this youth.

He was now at the back of a big building. With his hand rested in his chest he cast the spell with all his strength. Slowly, his hands became younger. His back started getting straight. His hair was getting shorter and darker. He was now tall and clumsy again.  
He touched his cheeks with a big smile, and stayed like that for while.

* * *

.

It had been a while since she had those dreams. The blur image of an old man getting younger in the New York streets felt so real, but at the same time, confuse. She was now going to meet Gwen and Lancelot at the Starbucks, as they always did before to work. Gwen told her that a poor confuse man had faced her and Lancelot the other day, those type of adventures always happen with Gwen. She laughed. Her best friend always had this affect on her. She's was lucky in have all those amazing persons around her, she must admit it.

For no good reason, the blur image of the old man came in her mind. It was a very weird image, actually. She barely could remember the man's face, even worst when he became young. She didn't understand why she was thinking about that, it was just a stupid dream.

Suddenly, she felt hot coffee all over her white jacket. In front of her, a dark hair young man looking at her with wide eyes. He didn't apologize, only stood there with a deep look in his face.  
'I'm... I'm sorry' he finally said, not changing the look on his face. 'That's okay' she lied, trying to finish any possibility of conversation with that strange man.  
He looked to her back, and she did the same. Gwen and Lancelot were laughing about the whole situation some steps afterwards. She gave them a sarcastic smile. 'Do you know them?' the clumsy guy asked her. She gave a fast glance to him and nodded.

He looked at her for time enough to make her feel uncomfortable. She looked to his hands, his cup was empty and she hoped that he wouldn't need more coffee. 'I think I need another coffee. Perhaps I can buy you one to apologize what I did to you' his last words sounded deep and distant. Is he aware that he only spilled coffee on her, and not made her drink some sort of poison?  
'That's no need, I'm fine. Thank you.' She walked forwards but he insisted 'Please, that's the least that I can do'.  
She looked deep in his wide blue eyes, and nodded. Was she getting crazy? What was she doing?

* * *

He paid her coffee as he promised even with her insisting that there was no need. Gwen and Lancelot finally appeared in front of them. 'Hey Morgana, I see that you have a new friend' she smiled a little archly. Morgana hated when she did those types of things.  
'He's only a guy who spilled coffee in my...' but she was cut by him 'My name is Merlin, it's nice to meet you both'. Gwen glanced to her friend and then said with enthusiasm ' You could sit with us; we still have a time to get to our jobs'.  
He nodded with a wild smile. _'I'll kill her'_ she thought.

* * *

They took their seat. Lancelot, quiet, as always, and Gwen never quitting talking.  
'So, what do you do for a living?' She asked excited. Morgana was starting to feel bad for the boy, he wasn't used with Gwen's chatter as she was. 'Right now I'm searching for a job, I past the last years studding History and Chemistry' he answered, nervously. 'Nice! Morgana also loves History and Chemistry. What a coincidence you guys had met each other in a coffee incident, right?'. He nodded.  
Morgana was really getting tired of having Gwen as her cupid 'Gwen, can I talk to you?' She asked, giving her a serious look. She nodded.

They walked till have distance enough of the table. 'Stop with it' the dark hair women said firmly 'What? He seems so nice.' Gwen said 'How do you know? We don't even know him, and if he's some sort of psychopath with a knife?'

Her friend gave her a '_really?_' glance. 'Look, Morgana, I know that you don't think that he's a psychopath, and I know that you're just scare to give him a chance.' She sigh and took her friend's hand gently ' Not every man in this world will break your heart, and I truly think that you deserve a second chance.'  
Morgana's last relationship didn't have a happy ending, and she didn't want to feel that all over again.  
She looked to the smiling guy talking to Lancelot; he seemed nice, very weird, but nice. Something in him seemed familiar, she didn't know actually what. Maybe the eyes…

'He's quite cute, isn't he?' asked Gwen taking her back to the reality.  
'You know that that's not the point here' Morgana said.  
Her friend laughed and walked to their table. Morgana followed her.

'I was thinking...' said Gwen while sitting 'Morgana's brother is searching for an assistant; I imagine that is not your dream job, but perhaps...' 'I accept it' he said quickly 'I mean, I can try. I got bills to pay, by the way.' Gwen smiled satisfied, while Lancelot did the same.

Now she wanted to kill them all. If the clumsy guy starts to work with his brother, she will see him every day, and Gwen will not give up till they get marry and have cute dark hair babies. Gwen really scared her sometimes.  
'I'm sorry, but what's the name of my, hopefully, future boss?' he asked, some sort of hope in his words 'Arthur' she answered 'Arthur Evans'.

He paralyzed. He cleared his throat, and Morgana could swear that his hands were shaking. He smiled nervously 'Okay, so when can I talk to him about the job? He must be a very busy man.' Morgana laughed 'Sure, very busy' she said sarcastically 'Perhaps you can talk to Arthur about Merlin, and even introduce him to your brother' said Gwen.

'I can't, he must be very busy' this time, Lancelot laughed. He was one of his brother's best friends. He knew that Arthur didn't actually care about the family's business. He only didn't sell his part of the company in memory of their father, who always wanted to see him as a successful business man. Arthur could truly be a successful man. She knew her brother, he was a leader, and she always thought that. But he also was insecure and inconsequent. He used to do wrong choice; like ask Agravaine, his uncle (yes, they are only half siblings, but she didn't care) to take care of the company for him. She always heard the employees talking about his past; he used to steal a certain percentage of the company's profits. She didn't trust him, she told her brother but he didn't want to listen, he never listens when he's blind. He was certain that that was the right thing to do because Agravaine had more experience.

'She's joking Merlin, she will get this job for you.' Gwen looked to her clock. 'Actually, she will do that right now'.  
'Pardon?' asked Morgana. Her friend didn't answer, just took her bag, stood up and said 'Come on Merlin, or we will get late'.  
He looked at her nervously; Gwen was making not only her feel awkward, but the poor boy too. Perhaps she should help him; even if that would mean no peace to her.  
She stood up and he did the same, and they followed Lancelot and Gwen to the outside.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Thank you so much everyone who's reading it, it makes me so happy!**

**I was really excited to write the second chapter, and that's what I did.**

**I'm sorry any error, I'm trying my best to write it correctly.**

**Hope you like it :)**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: Hangover**

That's it, he was finally going to see his best friend again. After many nights and days waiting to complete his life's mission, he would finally have the chance to see The Once and Future King rise again. But how that would happen? The world was not like it used to be in Camelot time. Arthur was not a king anymore. For what this world would need him now?

Merlin decided to think about this later. In that moment, he only wanted to enjoy the fact he was about to see his old friend again.

They were now inside of a huge building. There were people with phones, papers and computers everywhere.

Perhaps Arthur's job was the answer the Merlin needed. Maybe his company worked with something that could change the world.

Lancelot had left them in the second floor, while Morgana and Gwen seemed to work in the last floor of the building. See their dynamic made his heart bounce with happiness. They seemed to be closer than they ever were. When Merlin first came to Camelot, they are close friends; but maybe the fact that Gwen was not Morgana's servant anymore and she was not from the royalty, they could have more freedom with each other.

He smiled. Gwen seemed so full of life. She deserved all the happiness. Her past life was not easy, mostly after Arthur's death.  
But it was Morgana who impress him the most. This version of her reminds him the sweet and beautiful lady that he had met when he first came to Camelot. He didn't saw the evil witch that tried to kill him and all his friends. No. She seemed nice as she used to be before she was gone with Morgouse, before he poisoned her.

'Come on, he's office is that way' she warned him. 'And if he's busy? Are you sure that just going there with me is a good idea?' he asked, nervously. He had to get this job, he was born to be Arthur's servant, and in this case, his assistant. 'No. Believe me, there's no need. He might not even be here, anyways.'

She touched the door knob. He stopped breathing for a second. That's it. He was finally going to see his king again. He would finally be able to help him with his...

Hangover?

'Oh God, please, don't.' Morgana sighed, touching her forehead with disappointment.

Arthur was there. Physically the same, but he was complete drunk. His clothes were a mess, his hair even worst. Merlin didn't know if he was trying to stand up or only awkwardly seated on the table.

'Hey, dear sister!' he waved at her.

He tried to walk but he failed. Luckily Morgana took him in time. 'You shouldn't party this much in the middle of the week' she said. Arthur giggled. _'Don't stop the party'_ he sang and danced with no rhythm.  
Morgana tried to carry her brother to his chair. Once he was there, he started to laughed wildly.

That wasn't what he was expecting to see after all these years. When he first met Arthur he was an idiot, but not a drunk idiot. And the last time he saw Arthur, he was an honor king, far from be a drunken idiot. By the way, why is him a drunken idiot now? This new version of Arthur was confusing Merlin's head.

'Who's the prat?' he asked to Morgana. She glanced to Merlin and answered quickly 'That doesn't matter now. I gotta get you home'. She rested his arm in her shoulders and tried to carry him off the office. Merlin helped her.  
That situation reminds him his last day with Arthur. He had to carry him the whole day to save his life, but that wasn't enough. At least this time, his friend was only drunk.

'Gwen, can you take care of the things here? I don't think that I will be back too soon, and Arthur definitely will not come back today.' Morgana asked, still walking. Her friend nodded.

* * *

'What do you think you're doing?' she frowned, when they were getting into the taxi.

He looked at her confused, only half of his body on the car. 'What?' he asked, innocently.

She glanced to the cabby; he was not in the mood of waiting.

'No offence, but I don't even know you. How do you expect me to let you come to my brother's apartment?'. He looked at her determined. 'I can help you to carry him till his...'

He had no time to finish the sentence. The car already was in movement. Merlin almost fell in Arthur's and Morgana's legs. Quickly, he seated and closed the door.

'Are you crazy?' she yelled to the cabby 'I don't care about you safety, my daughter has a ballet performance in 30 minutes and I will not let any drunk group of friends ruin her sweet dreams'. She faced the mustache man for while and said: 'We're not drunk, only this idiot by my side. Look, if this strange man do anything to me it will be your fault!'.  
'Yeah, sure. It's totally my fault if you have persecutory delusions.'  
Merlin laughed. Morgana faced the driver with anger, not a mortal anger as it used to have in that green eyes, but other type of anger. An anger that really amused him.

* * *

.

She paid the cabby not really bothering in look at his face. The clumsy guy wished him 'good luck' and waved. Maybe she was being too rushed with him. He seemed so nice. It has being hard trusting people since her heart was broken.

Arthur was practically sleeping in their arms. She took the keys in her bag; luckily, he always left his keys in his office in case she needed take him home, what usually happened.

She opened the door and helped the dark hair guy lay her brother in his bed. He fell there like a heavy building.

They stayed there, looking to Arthur's sleeping face for a while. It wasn't pretty, she could see him drooling.

'Thank you' she finally said. 'I'm sorry if I was too rushing with you, I'm not used in meet new people'. She didn't looked directly to his eyes. For some reason, be alone with that guy made her feel uncomfortable.

He nodded and smiled. 'Don't worry. At least I had the opportunity to meet my possible new boss' it had some sort of excitement in his worlds.  
She arched her eyebrows 'Are sure that you still want this job? I mean, you met him; he's not the perfect boss'.  
He smiled 'I know... I mean, I can imagine. But perhaps that's why I should get this job. I got bills to pay and he need someone patient enough to bear his alcohol breath'.  
'You're aware that this job is about being an assistant and not a babysitter, right?' she asked.  
'I know. But if in the end of the month my bills are paid, I don't care in doing both'.

She studied him carefully. Or he was a very nice guy, too nice, she must admit it, or he was so desperate for money that could even handle a drunken boss.  
'Okay then, you starts tomorrow.' she said. 'I'm sorry?' he asked, confused. 'I'll tell him that he hired you when he was drunk. He'll not remember a thing he won't fire you because he will not admit that was drunk enough to do such thing.'

She knew her brother. She knew that it would work. The boy nodded. The poor guy didn't know what was waiting for him.

* * *

Gwen insisted to meet her after the job; probably to talk about the clumsy guy. They barely got their seats in the quite restaurant close their work, Morgana was with no mood to noises places, when her friend started the conversation.  
'So he helped you with your brother and then...'. She took a time to answer; she was with no mood in continuing that conversation. 'And that's it. What were you expecting to happen?'.  
'You guys didn't talked or anything?' she asked with hope in her words.  
'I hired him for my brother, he really needs an assistant.' she pointed out. Her friend smiled archly. 'So he will work with us... Nice.'  
'Stop with that' she said firmly.  
'What? I did nothing' Gwen tried to sound honest, but she failed. 'Stop trying to be my cupid, Guinevere. I don't need it'.  
'Look, I know you, Morgana. I know you very well. I'm only insisting with this because I think you deserve someone that will truly love you' she stated sweetly.

Gwen could be very nosy sometimes, but she was an admirable person. She was never afraid to fight for what she wanted. Her life was never easy; her mother died when she was only a girl and her father had to raise two kids alone. Her family has always been poor, but that never was an excuse to her; even worst an ashamed.  
Even though her family never had problems with financial issues; she could feel related to Gwen in so many points. They both had lost their mothers when they still were young (actually, Morgana never met her mother); and they both lost their father when they were already adults, leaving only their brothers as family. Actually, Morgana also had Morgouse, but she only met her when she was older and they barely see each other. Morgouse was a sweetheart. She always tried so hard to be the perfect older sister, but unfortunately, she never was able to be much time in the town because of her job.

'We barely know him. He barely knows me. How can you say that he will truly love me?'  
Her friend sighed. Morgana smiled in victory.  
'I don't know' she declaimed 'But a guy like him is not easy to find. I can tell you' Morgana allowed her a time to think enjoying the situation. Finally her friend had no good reason to keep that conversation.  
'I know it sounds odd but I feel that he's a good guy. He's so gentle and the way he looks at is so sweet' she was practically whimpering.  
'He barely looked at me. You are seeing things where does not exist.'

Actually, she couldn't say if the boy looked at her or not; she was trying so hard to not make eye contact.  
'You didn't notice, but he was looking at you all the time. Like when a puppy looks at his owner.' Morgana frowned. 'That was the oddest comparison that I ever heard you saying'. Gwen laughed. 'I'm not telling to marry him and live in a house in Malibu with a bunch of dogs and children' she was not telling her that, but Morgana would not get impress if she said it. 'I'm only telling you that should give him a chance, call him to do something that you both like. Like something related to History and Chemistry. Didn't you said that there was a new exposition in the town?'  
'I will not call him out' she said determined.  
'Don't think that as date but as an investigation.'  
'Investigation?' _what was she talking about?_  
'Yes, to know if your brother's new assistant is a psychopath'.

They both laughed. Morgana would not give up so easy. She didn't want to ask him out, but perhaps have someone to share her interests was not that bad.

* * *

**Hopefully I will update it soon.**

**Perhaps in the next chapter we will see a sober Arthur… Perhaps, who knows?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! **

**Thank you so much for your reviews! It made my week! **

**Hope you guys like this chapter! **

**Sorry for any error! Once again, I'm trying my best to write it correctly.**

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: Dog toy**

Merlin couldn't sleep thinking about his next day. He would finally work to Arthur again. The only problem was that he didn't know how Arthur would react with his presence in the office. Morgana said that he would not fire him, and her explanation for her plan sounded a lot like Arthur. Perhaps he didn't changed that much.

With no more than 3 hours of sleep he woke up to breakfast. He needed the whole energy in the world to handle Arthur. It felt like the old days.

After changing his clothes, he got out of his new apartment.  
It was a nice place to live, even though it was not very lighting and not very clean. Well, about the cleaning it was actually his fault; he passed so many years on the streets that he forgot the many responsibilities of having a home.

Have somewhere to sleep every night reminded him Gaius. He missed him. A lot. He hoped to find him as he found the others.

* * *

He decided to buy a coffee to his new old boss. Make good first impressions (or almost that) always sounds like a good idea.  
There was no surprise for him to see all those familiar faces in the place. Lancelot was with his arms around Gwen while she was drinking her coffee. It was quite odd to Merlin because she used to be Arthur's wife; but he knew that in this life things were very different from what it was once, so he didn't mind in see both of his friends happy.  
When he got closer to them, he noticed Morgana's effort to not look at his eyes. He wondered if in some part of her subconscious she still could remember the moment that he killed her. His lungs stopped to work for a second. He hoped to her memories never come back.  
'Hi, Merlin' said Gwen smiling, bringing him back to reality. He noticed that he passed a long time watching Morgana, what made him react nervously 'Oh, hey guys. I'm here to buy coffee to my new boss' he smiled, excited.  
'Arthur hates coffee' stated Morgana, looking at her cup.  
'Oh' said Merlin 'Perhaps I can buy him something else. What does he like?'  
She took a time to answer; still looking at her cup like it was the most interest thing to do. 'Except for anything with alcohol, I think he wouldn't mind in drink a hot chocolate' she answered with fast glance.  
'Ok then, I'll buy him one'.

* * *

He bought the hot chocolate a few cookies too. Merlin couldn't help but have such a big smile at his face. The elevator was now leading them to the last floor.  
He could notice Morgana glancing at him sometimes, when she thought he wasn't looking. She didn't seem trust him. She never did since he poisoned her. Perhaps the pain of his betrayal had caused her so much damage that even a new life and no memories could allow her to forget. He couldn't blame her; he killed her after all.  
Once again, he had passed too much time staring at Morgana. Gwen giggled. He took his attention to his feet while his cheeks felt like burning.  
The elevator stopped. They leave it and Merlin could hear Gwen wishing him a 'good luck' as he walked to his boss's office.  
He was shining. The door was already open; he took a deep breath and got in.  
There was him, signing a lot of papers with a serious expression. It didn't seem like he was enjoying it. Merlin stood there, with hot chocolate and cookies in his hands. A huge smile on his face. His friend was alive.  
Arthur glanced at him fast. At first he didn't seem noticed his presence, but then his eyes got back to him quickly.  
'Who are you?' his boss frowned.  
Merlin had no time to answer; a voice in his back did that for him.  
'He's your new assistant' said Morgana, entering the office room.  
'What?' he looked at his sister confused while she smirked to him. 'I never hired this...'  
'You hired him yesterday, when you were drunk' she cut him quickly.  
The blond guy stopped. His sister looking at him with a very amusing smirk.  
'I remember that. I remember him.' he lied. He glanced at Merlin like he was trying so hard to remember his face, and then back to Morgana.  
'I brought you hot chocolate and cookies' Merlin finally said with enthusiasm at his voice.  
'I already ate. Thank you.' he said harshly, not looking at his face.  
He came back to signing papers letting Merlin with no action. Morgana gave him a warm smile, and he accepted that as an apologizing act. After that, she walked away letting him alone with his new boss.  
Merlin noticed the massive mass of paper above the table. He didn't know how someone could work like that. Ready to start with his job, he started to organize the papers. It felt like the old times when Arthur used to work in his table while Merlin cleaned his room.  
Arthur looked at him with a confused look, but Merlin didn't mind and kept with his job.  
'What are you think you're doing?' he finally asked.  
'Cleaning your office, sir' he answered, not stopping with his work.  
Arthur watched him for certain time before he continues 'There's no need. I got other job for you do'.  
He caught a small paper and started writing some sort of address on it.  
'Tell me... uhm … What's your name?' he asked not seeming to care much.  
'Merlin' he answered.  
'Okay, Merlin. Tell me, do you have any ability with dogs?' he finished writing.  
'Ability?' he asked, confused.  
'Yes, ability. Like, the dogs used to like you?'  
Merlin was still confused. What was the point of that conversation?  
'I believe that dogs likes everyone, sir'.  
Arthur smiled. He knew that smile; Arthur was planning something, something that he would not be pleased to do.  
'Well, as I said, I've got a job for you' he took some dollars from his pocket. 'Buy the best chocolates and flowers that you find'.  
He gave him the money. There was a lot of money, actually; at least for him, that passed most of his life using only the necessary magic money to survive.  
'There is a girl named Vivian; I want you go to her house and say that I sent you to pass the whole day with her children. Don't forget to say _children_ or I will kill you' his tone was quite serious.  
Whoever Vivian was in this life, he really wanted to impress her. Why? Merlin had no idea. In the past life he only got interested for Lady Vivian because of magic. He doubted that that was the case this time.  
'Buy something to the dogs too. Actually, don't forget the dog's gift; she cares more about them than she cares about herself. Use all the money if you need to; I just want her to be impressed'.  
He gave him the paper. Merlin stood there looking at the paper.  
'What are you waiting for?' Arthur asked almost yelling. 'Vivian got a photo shoot in 30 minutes, and you have to be in her house before she goes'.  
'30 minutes?' Merlin almost yelled back. How was he supposed to do all those stuffs in such small time?  
'Don't you dare yell at me. I'm your boss. And if you don't get there in time and be an angel to her and her children consider yourself fired' he was definitely being the worst version of himself.

* * *

Merlin walked away from the office not knowing what to do. How would he be able to do all those stuffs in only 30 minutes? He had no idea how he would get this, but he had to. He couldn't get fired. He needed to be Arthur's assistant to him finally seal his destiny.

* * *

He already had bought the flowers and the chocolates, but it was impossible to buy the dog's gifts and get to Lady Vivian's house in time. He was doomed. Complete doomed. Perhaps he could go without it. No. Arthur was very specific about the dogs. If he wanted to impress her, he needed to pet them. That whole situation were completely stupid; but he knew that Arthur would not think twice in fire him, even if it was for a very stupid thing.  
He glanced to his clock, he only had 10 minutes and the address was quite away from where he was. He had no chance. His lungs were killing him. He was not used to all this running thing, not anymore.  
_That's it_. Now he had to find another way to get closer to Arthur. But what other way?  
_Wait_, he thought. He had magic. He could use that. How could he forget something like that? He was about to fail with his destiny because of a dog toy.  
'Hey' he heard a familiar voice in his back 'Hey' he listened again, now louder.  
He turned back. It was Morgana. She was running to him and it had flowers and a shop bag in her hands. He watched her getting closer.  
She stopped in front of him and took a deep breath. It seemed that running was not her thing too.  
'Here' she said giving him the shop bag 'There is some dogs toys and Vivian's favorite chocolates in there' she looked at the box in his hands 'If you give her these she will probably throw it into your face' she said with a smirk.  
Merlin looked at her even more confused. She took the box in his hands and gave him the flowers that she was with. 'She hates purple but she loves yellow' she stated taking the purple flowers in his hands. 'At least is not roses, if it was she definitely would throw it into your face' she laughed sweetly.  
'Why are you doing this?' he finally asked.  
'Gwen forced me' she quickly answered not looking at his face. 'Now, you better go. I'm not with any sort of helicopter to get you there in time and with style'.  
He giggled. She was being very kind to him. And if it wasn't for his magic she would have saved his day.  
'I said, go' she said harshly, but he knew that was for his own good.

* * *

Lady Vivian's house was huge. Not like a castle, obviously; but huge. Luckily, it wasn't that far from the town, but it also wasn't that close. Anyways, he would be lucky if she was still there.  
He ranged the bell, and soon the once princess appeared in front of him.  
'Who are you?' she asked with a not amused tone. He smiled 'Arthur sent me to take care of your children. He also bought these flowers and chocolate'.  
Her face changed when he said 'Arthur'; who once was not amused with his presence, now was pushing him to the inside with a huge smile in the face.  
'Arthur is such a sweetheart, isn't he?' she asked dreamily touching the flowers in her hands. 'Find a vase to it' she ordered harshly to her maid. That girl changes her mood very quickly, he noticed.  
'I bought some toys to your...' his voice faded when noticed how huge the toys were. It seemed made for a tiger. _What was Morgana thinking?_  
Suddenly, something heavy made him fall on the floor. It was a dog; even though he felt like it was a lion covering his body. He barely could feel his legs. The dog started to lick his whole face.  
'Aww, Leonardo seems to like you' he could hear her voice, but he couldn't see her face; the dog didn't allowed him.  
'Well, I hope Brad and Angelina also likes you.'  
_It had more?_  
'Mom gotta go now. Bye my baby, have fun with your new friend'  
He heard the door close. He stood there, with the dog licking his face.

* * *

That were not the most perfect day of his life; actually it was very far from it.

It was already night and he had to come back to Arthur's office to return his change. He could do that in the next day, but he feared end up getting in trouble.  
He hoped that the torture of having three dogs licking and hitting him to the ground the whole day had worth something.

It was later than he thought. The building was almost empty. He could swear that in his floor that was no one except for a dark hair women writing in papers.  
'Can you give that to your brother?' he asked, giving her the money.  
She didn't took it, only watched him with a frown and a half smile.  
He was a mess; his hair very messy, his clothes ripped, his face all dirty and wet.  
'What happened to you?' she asked, visibly trying to not laugh.  
'Vivian's _dogs_ were actually lions. Her _photo shoot_ was actually a day in the spa. And my first day of job was actually a wet and painful torture' he was furious and tired.  
Morgana was laughing hard. He didn't do the same. That situation might look funny to the others, but for him it was anything but it.  
She took a deep breath and ended with her laugh. She looked at his eyes. She didn't seem to mind in doing that in that moment. Maybe his (funny) situation was making her subconscious forget their sad past a little.  
'Do you want to quit?' she asked him with a smirk.  
'No' he answered 'Not in a million of years'.  
She watched him for a while. He had no idea what was passing in her mind.  
'Do you like Italian food?' she finally asked. He wasn't sure why she did that question.  
'Yes' he answered.  
'There is a new Italian restaurant in town, and any of my friends likes Italian food; so I was wondering if you would like to go with me'.

* * *

_**Reviews:**_

**Meli: Yes, believe me. It's like in the own show; at the begin they barely talk to each other, and then BAM! Love is in the air. But I think it will take a time. After all, she's dating Lancelot right now.**

**Guest 1: I'm glad that you liked it! Thank you so much!**

**Guest 2: Thank you! And you're totally right, his friends got a lot of work to do.**

**I don't know if I will update it till Friday. Hopefully, I will.**

**-  
I'm not sure about what's going to happen in the next chapter, I have some ideas but nothing decided yet; but I can promise you some Arthur and Mergana.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys!**

**I'm sorry guys, I thought I would update it till Friday, but I could only finish it today**

**Anyway, thank you so much everyone who's reading it! It makes me very happy! **

**Hope you guys like this chapter!**

**As always, I'm sorry for any error.**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: Nightmares and Papers**

The clumsy guy didn't answered, only stood there with the same expression. It had been a terrible idea; he was probably misunderstanding her words.  
'It's not a date' she pointed out almost jumping from her chair 'Like I said, none of my friends likes Italian food and I don't want to go there alone'.  
Her eyes avoiding his. The last thing she wanted was to have a date with that guy, she was only inviting him to the restaurant because perhaps have someone to share her interests would be interesting. Gwen could not always be with her, she had a boyfriend to give attention. Arthur, well, his type of fun was definitely not the same of hers. Morgana didn't have many friends, what made her quite a lonely.  
Some part of her was yelling to her not get closer to that guy, but perhaps that was just a silly sensation.  
'Don't worry. I got it.' he smiled nicely. The boy was visibly tired; his clothes all ripped and his hair all dirty and messy. She knew that Vivian's dogs could do a lot of damage in a person if they didn't like them, but it seemed that even their love could hurt.  
'Anyway I have thank you; without you my day would probably be worse than it was, if that's possible' he did a small giggle. She smiled back at him, avoiding his eyes like it would hurt her somehow. Something in his eyes made her feel... Well, she didn't know what actually that feeling was; she only knew it wasn't good.  
'I'm sorry, but I really need to go now. I'm famished and I truly need a shower' he said laying Arthur's money in the table.  
With a nod and a smile, he walked away to the office's door, but before he leaves the place, he looked back with a gentle smile:  
'About the Italian restaurant; I would be glad to keep you company' saying that, he closed the door.

* * *

It was late of night and Morgana could not sleep. She had an awful nightmare where a guy stabbed her with sword while holding her in his arms. It was horrible; she could feel the pain, the despair and the sadness covering all her body and mind. The smell of the woods, the pain in her wound, the pain in her heart. She shook her head wishing that those thoughts would go away. She always had terrible nightmares, but none of them had felt so real like that one. She could not see the murderer's face. It was blurred and dark. She heard a man's voice before she closed her eyes and wake up in her bed, but she didn't recognize or even understand the words he was saying.  
She seated in her bed. The night was cold and even a bunch of blankets covering her legs could not make her to fell warmer. Why was she having those nightmares? It used to happen when something big was about to happen, like when her father died. Her heart stopped for a second. Think about her father had always being hard, even when he was alive.  
She rested her head in the pillow, and closed her eyes wishing to not have that nightmare again, or any other.

* * *

.

Merlin waked up with his whole body heavier than usual. Lady Vivian's dogs had almost killed him. He knew that the dogs actually liked him, but he could live without all that love. He took a shower because the only thing his body allowed him to do the last night was sleep.  
When he was about to eat his breakfast he glanced at his cloak and noticed that he was really late. He was starving, but he had no time for food; Arthur would kill him if he got late.

* * *

That was his second day at work, and he only hoped it would be better than the first; but he knew that it would not happen.  
He entered in Arthur's office and he was glad to see his boss sober.  
'Marley! Good that you're here before my children go to college' the blonde young man said ironically.  
'It's Merlin, sir. And I thought you was single' he said trying to sound the most innocent possible, but failing.  
Arthur took the appointment book over the table. Merlin already knew what that was for. His boss got closer and hit him in the head with the object.  
'Next time will be your bills unpaid'. He walked to his table, and seated in his chair with a serious expression.  
'Vivian called me yesterday; she told me that I was very careful giving her her favorite chocolates and flowers. She also said that her children really liked you and she would be very glad if you come back more times'.  
Merlin tried to control his words. The last thing he wished was to see those dogs again.  
'It seems that you did your job very well, but I wonder how you knew what chocolate and flowers was Vivian's favorite' he faced him wanting an answer, but it seemed that he already knew what it was.  
'I'm a good guesser' he lied. Merlin didn't know if that was the right thing to do, but considering the fact that Arthur had some sort of rivalry with his sister, tell him that it was her who bought the flowers and the chocolates didn't seemed the best idea; even though he felt that Arthur already knew the answer.  
'Good guesser, huh? Perhaps, but I can see that you are a terrible liar' he stood up again, getting closer to his assistant with threatening eyes.  
'Why my sister is is so interested in helping you?' he asked. Merlin's back almost touching the wall.  
'I don't know. She's a good woman, I think'. Not even Merlin knew why Morgana was helping him like that, how would he explain something that even he knew to answer?  
'I know she's a good woman, but I also know that she loves teasing me' he walked back. He was now walking in circles with a thoughtful expression in his face and with his hand in his chin 'I know she hired you to tease me, and to keep eyes on me. What she thinks I am? A huge baby? I'm a grown man!'  
Arthur was angry, that was visible.  
'I think she cares about you. She's only concerned about your condition'

Okay, that was not a good idea. Arthur's eyes were now on fire.  
'My condition? What do you mean with my condition?'  
He took the wrong path, a very wrong path. Perhaps they could talk about his alcohol problems when they get closer, but right now it was just too soon to talk about something so personal. He could be fired in a blink of eyes.  
'I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean...'  
'It's okay, Marley. I know you didn't mean to offend me' he said for Merlin's surprise, a lot calmer than two seconds before.  
Merlin looked at him confused. Why he was being nice so suddenly. Was him passing too much time with Lady Vivian or he was always like this in this life?  
'You made yourself very useful in your first day; even though you had help'  
Arthur was now in his chair organizing his papers. Oh great! He knew how to do that.  
'You know, I have a special job for you today' he took a huge amount of papers in his hand and pushed it to his confusing assistant. 'I'll be very busy today and I will have no time to read all those papers; so I want you to read it all twice and write a report about all of this to I read it tomorrow morning. Oh, and when you be finished with those; catch more in my table's drawer' he took his jacket ready to get out, but Merlin asked before he did it.  
'Sir, where can I seat to read all those papers?' he asked, aware that his boss would never allow him to seat in his _throne_.  
'Oh right, I forgot about that. Follow me' he signed with his head.  
They walked a little till they get to Gwen's table.  
'That's your chair' he pointed with an amusing smile.  
'But that's Gwen's table' he said confused.  
'I'm not talking about _her_ chair, I'm talking about _your_ chair'.  
Merlin finally got what his boss was trying to say; at the Gwen's table side was lonely and visibly uncomfortable stool.  
'I hope you'll be comfortable' he lied backslapping him still smiling, and walking away.  
Merlin tried to give an angry glance to his back, but the papers were making that hard.  
'Merlin?' he heard a familiar voice in his back. He turned around, and there was Gwen looking at him with a confused smile in her face. 'What are you doing?'.  
'Hey Gwen' he lay the papers on her table awkwardly. 'My boss only gave me that stool to do my work, so if you don't mind, can I use you table to lay those papers?' he asked.  
'Of course, Merlin; it's not your fault if your boss is a jerk' he smiled at her a little inquiring. It reminded him the time when she was not married with Arthur, and could not even consider this possibility.  
'You think he's a jerk?' he asked laughing.  
'Don't you?' she asked back.  
'Yes, I do.' he answered still laughing.  
'Well, I see you have a lot of job to do' she said looking at the amount of papers in her table.  
'Yeah, at least they're not monsters trying to eat my soul' she glanced at him confused 'He sends me to be the babysitter of Vivian's dogs ' he explained 'Her dogs are actually huge monster'.  
This time, she was the one laughing.  
'So it's better to us start to work or he will send Vivian's monsters to eat our souls'. Both of them laughed. He seated at his stool, which was truly uncomfortable; and prepared himself to read the papers.

* * *

Merlin got very surprised when he saw what the company was about, even worst, the name of it; _'Avalon: The once and Future Water_' Why in the world they named the water _Avalon_? And '_The once and future Water_?'.  
'Who created this slogan?' Merlin thought out loud.  
'Arthur grandfather was a little obsessed with the Arthurian Legend. That's why Uther named his daughter Morgana and his son Arthur' Gwen explained 'My father also used to like those stories, so he gave me the name Guinivere' she laughed 'Life can be very ironic sometimes, my best friend ended up being Morgana, I ended up dating Lancelot. And now we have you, our personal wise old man. Honestly, if you were an old man I would definitely start to worry about this whole thing'.  
It seemed that that whole situation was quite normal to them. Just a huge life coincidence. _It's better that way_, Merlin thought. If they find out about who they were in the past life, it could ruin everything; not only their destiny, but their relationship with each other.  
Merlin learned after all these years that he biggest mistake was fear a destiny that didn't even happened yet. He acted with fear of failing and ended up ruining the life of everyone he cared about. In the end he didn't fail with his destiny, but with his friends. He could not make the same mistake again.  
'Merlin, are you okay?' she asked him gently. He noticed he had passed a long time facing her computer.  
'Yes. I'm only thinking about how much papers I still have to read' he lied returning his attention to the papers in his hands.  
It was quite boring, he must admit it. How a water company would help to save the world? He knew that water was very important to the humanity, to the earth itself, but Merlin had no idea how Arthur could save it. That whole water situation was making Merlin's mind confused.

* * *

After a whole day of reading boring businesses documents, Merlin was tired and with his eyes hurting. He thought he could find something suspicious, but nothing happened. Everything was quite normal and boring. Nothing that could make Arthur a hero, or at least something more than a drunk prat.  
He left Arthur's report in his table, and watched Gwen while she was packing her bag. Most of the employees had already gone home, and the others were going away.  
'It seems that you finished your job' she said nicely.  
'Yes. Thankfully I did it in time' he said with a smile.  
Merlin noticed Lancelot entering the place doing a silence sign to him to not warn Gwen he was there. He noticed that it had a beautiful bouquet of red roses in his hands. The male got closer to her covering her eyes with his left hand.  
'Guess who?' he asked while she smiled.  
'I guess it is the most handsome and sweet member of the Round Table' she answered.  
While she turned back and kissed his boyfriend, Merlin wondered about what she meant with the 'round table', was that only a joke about his name or there was something more about it?

* * *

.

Morgana walked to the lovely couple and the clumsy guy. She passed the whole day at reunions in Arthur's place because he said that would be busy, but she knew he was not planning anything important. Agravaine said that he could represent the company alone, but she would never allow that.  
There was nothing worse than have a whole day of reunion. Agravaine was planning something new to the company; something that he said would change the whole water business. Unfortunately he said it was a surprise and only he and Arthur knew about it. It worried her. Arthur didn't care much about the company, she also didn't but she had to admit that she couldn't leave it in bad hands, like in Agravane's hands; she didn't trust him, she never did.  
'Hey Morgana, how was your day replacing your brother?' Gwen asked while Lancelot embraced her.  
'Awful; anyways, can you see those papers for me tomorrow? It seems that Avalon will get more business partners' she said giving her the yellow folder. Her friend took it with a gentle nod.  
'It seems that you both will have fun today' Morgana smiled seeing the beautiful bouquet of red roses in her shining friend hands.  
'Yes, we will have a very romantic dinner at the most romantic restaurant of New York' Gwen said with a dreamer voice.  
Morgana always admired how lovely Lancelot and Gwen's relationship was. Anyone could see the love in his eyes when he looked at her, and how comfortable he made her feel. To her, they were perfect couple.  
'She's being exaggerated; the last time we were there it had a sir and a lady having a serious discussion about their marriage' Lancelot said still smiling.  
'Yeah, but in the end he and his wife ended up inviting everyone on the place to their renew of vows ceremony' said Gwen 'I'm telling you, that place is magical'.  
Morgana laughed, and unconsciously glanced to the guy by her side. It was a quick movement, she didn't even knew why she did that, but she was able to see a distant smile in his face. She wondered what he was thinking.  
'Well, we gotta go now. I see you both tomorrow, bye!' she and his boyfriend waved at them, and then walked away away.  
Morgana stood there, watching the office's door closing, while the dark haired guy seemed to do the same.  
Suddenly, the images from her nightmare got back to her mind. She tried the whole day push these thoughts away, but it seemed that this time she could not do anything about it. She felt a deep pain in her stomach, and quickly she felt a hand holding her waist.  
She pushed the hands away brutally remembering the guy who was holding her in her nightmare.  
Morgana opened her eyes. She was out of breath with her knees on the ground, hands shaking and tears falling from her eyes. She looked up and saw a confused guy apparently uncertain to get closer.  
'I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be inappropriate. I just thought you could get hurt if you hit the ground like that' he said with his hands in the air, making visible that he would not hurt her.  
'I-I'm sorry' she said wiping her tears away ' You did nothing I just...' she couldn't hold that pain for much longer. Her tears were falling in her face without any apparent reason. Why was she feeling those things? From where that pain came from? A dream couldn't do such damage, so what could it be? But the pain, it was the same from her nightmare.  
'Can I call you a doctor? Are you feeling some sort of pain?' he asked resting his knees in the ground, but maintaining a certain distance from her.  
She didn't answer; she couldn't do anything but crying and feel pain. She hated to be in such situation.  
The guy got closer slowly, like she was some sort of scared baby bear.  
'I don't want to hurt you; I promise' he said, gently.  
'I know' she finally said, trying hard to finish the crying 'I don't know why but I'm feeling a deep pain in my stomach, like it has something cutting it deep' she didn't know why she was telling him those things, but it felt better to say that loud.  
It had a tear falling in his eye, while he was looking at her with an almost painful expression. That guy was very emotional, she thought.  
'I-I will call you a doctor' he said standing up carefully. He seemed too much confused to notice that it had a telephone two steps away from him, instead of using it he ran to the table close to office's door. He was visibly nervous.  
'There's no need' she tried to say loudly 'I think I'm feeling better, the pain is almost going away ' she lied trying to stand up using Gwen's table as support.  
He left the telephone almost instantly and ran stopping in a certain distance of her. For some reason, she was appreciating the fact he was not getting too much close of her.  
'Are you sure you don't need a doctor? I can help you get to the hospital, if you don't want I call it' he said.  
The pain was getting worse. She seated in Gwen's chair and tried to take her phone in her bag.  
'I'll call Gaius, I prefer him than any hospital' she said trying to ignore the pain.  
When she was ready to call her doctor, a deep pain crossed her stomach like a sword; like in her dream. Her eyes getting heavy, her body as well, she didn't see anything but darkness after that.

* * *

**Reviews:  
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**Zarathos' chain: Thank you so much! You have no idea how much happy your comment made me feel! I hope you like this chapter as well :D**

**Guest: Thank you for the Morgana's advice! I already was planning to do that, but your comment gave me an idea and I decided to do it early. So, THANK YOU SO MUCH! This chapter is totally dedicated to you because your comment truly changed this chapter's storyline!**  
**I hope you keep reading it and I hope you like this one and the chapters to come.**

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* * *

**I'm already writing the next chapter; hopefully I will post it soon!**

**I can tell you that I'm planning to the next chapter more Mergana, Arthur, and… Gaius?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys!**

**Thank you so much everyone who's reading it and leaving a review! You guys are amazing!**

**I'm sorry for any error.**

**I hope you guys like it :)**

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE: HIGH FEVER**

Morgana suddenly failed from the chair. Merlin caught her in time to hit the ground. He didn't care if getting closer to her could make things worse, he needed to help her. He held her in his arms; her face pale and serene.

She had said that she would call Gaius, and if it wouldn't for the circumstances, he would be shining for the fact he was about to meet his guardian in this new life.  
Merlin laid the women's body gently on the ground, and searched for his once guardian number. Soon, he heard a familiar voice coming from the object.  
_'What can I help you, Morgana?'_ the old man's voice asked.  
Merlin sighed trying to not cry; between all the persons he met, the person he most missed talking to was Gaius.  
'Uhh, it's not Morgana, it's her brother's assistant. She fell in the ground saying that her stomach was hurting and now she fainted. Can you come here fast? I don't know what to do' he said trying to not show his emotions. It was hard, he was talking to the man that he ever told everything.  
_'Okay, where are you?'_ he asked quickly.  
'We are in the company's office' Merlin answered.

* * *

While Gaius was coming, Merlin watched his once enemy lay in the ground. He was not sure if it was only a coincidence or if her body was for some reason reviving her last breaths moments. She had rested her hand in the same place he had stabbed her; she had pushed him harshly when he got closer to help her to not fall. It was clear that his presence was making her feel something unpleasant. It worried him. Morgana never should remember her past life. It would ruin everything. The last time he failed with her giving her a destiny that he could avoid only by telling the truth. This time he had a second chance to allow her to find a happy ending, but if her memories come back, that would be so much harder.  
'When the pain started?' he heard a voice in his back, and soon he saw a white haired old man resting his knees beside Morgana.  
Merlin could not believe in his eyes, Gaius was there in front of him. His hair was shorter than it used to be, and his clothes were definitely more modern.  
'I don't know, it was suddenly; it happened a little after Gwen and Lancelot gone away to their date' he answered still looking at his once guardian.  
'I see' he said examinee the pale skin women on the ground. Merlin watched him till he packed his doctor's suitcase and stood up, saying:  
'It's better take her home'  
'She's okay, then? There's no need to go to the hospital?' Merlin asked.  
'She has a high fever, but that's all I can say while she's not awake. I can say there's any sign of wound from the outside, I believe it is nothing we should worry about ' he looked at Morgana and glanced at Merlin again 'I know Morgana since she was a baby, she hates hospitals more than anything. I believe that bring her to a hospital would only make the things worst. For while, I believe it is better we see if she gets better after a whole night of sleep' the old man took a medicine pack from his suitcase and gave it to him 'Tell Arthur to give it to her every time that her fever get worst' he said 'Please, tell him that I'm sorry for not be able to stay longer, I have a serious surgery to do now, and please inform him that there's no need to worry, I presume she will be feel tomorrow morning'  
Merlin nodded, and the old man did the same. After that, he walked away. He watched him close the door; it was good to see him again. He had too much to talk with him, but he knew he would never be able to talk about the things he wanted to.  
Now he had to call Arthur, he only hoped he was not drunk.

* * *

.

Morgana felt someone pressing gently some sort of wet fabric in her forehead. Her eyes were too heavy to open, but she could feel a fuzzy blanket covering her body. She presumed she was in a bed, it was not much comfortable as hers, but it was comfortable enough.  
After a few seconds unsure about what was happening, she felt asleep again.

* * *

It was morning; she could see a wispy sign of sunlight coming from the window beside the bed she was laying. She seated up a little confused. She looked around and noticed that the place was mess; books, papers, and man's clothes all over the place. Wait, man's clothes? Where was she?  
'Oh, you're already awake' he said with a tray in his hands. His voice sounded a little low, it seems he didn't sleep for hours.  
'What are you doing here?' she looked around and noticed where she was. 'What am I doing here?'  
'Good morning to you too' he said a little sarcastically, resting the tray in her lap. She found weird the way he was standing up in front of her; he looked like some sort of royal servant.  
'I don't want to eat this; I want to know what am I doing at your apartment?' she frowned and said a little harshly.  
'Gaius... I mean, Doctor Gaius told me you needed to rest. I tried to call Arthur the whole night with no success. I didn't call Gwen because I thought you would kill me if I had ruined her date, and I tried to call other friend of yours but...'  
She was glad he didn't finish the sentence. Morgana didn't have many friends in the town, and it felt quite lonely sometimes. She was not sure about what was happening till that moment; she had faint, but before that she was feeling a deep pain, like something was cutting her stomach. It was the worst sensation she ever felt.  
There was silence. The guy stood straight with his hands back. It seemed he was only waiting for her command to do something.  
'I'm glad you didn't call Gwen; I would hate to ruin her date. She was so happy about it' she finally said. He nodded.  
'It is better for you to eat; I know it's not the best...'  
'You don't need to act like that, I'm not Vivian, I don't have any group of monsters that I can send to eat your soul' she said taking a toast and after that giving it a bite.  
He did a small forced laugh, she noticed, and stood there watching she eat her breakfast. His eyes seemed distant and she noticed a little smile on his face when she was chewing the second bite.  
'Why are you looking at me like that?' she asked really uncomfortable with the distant look he was giving to her.  
'Nothing, I'm just glad you're feeling better' he said still smiling.  
Morgana returned her eyes to the toast. She almost forgot how hard it was to her look directly to his eyes.  
Someone knocked the door and he left the room. That whole situation was pretty odd to her, and she was really glad when she saw Gwen and Gaius entering the room. Her friend ran to give her a hug.  
'I told Merlin he should had called me; I got really worried when he called me this morning' she said holding her friend's hand.  
'Exactly, you would be worried and it would ruin your date. I'm glad he didn't call you, as you see there was no need, I'm okay now' she said while her doctor sat by her side. He checked her heart beats and rested his hand in her forehead.  
'It seems that your fever is gone as your friend had told me' her doctor said.  
'He's not my friend and why did you left me alone with a strange man?' she asked whispering to her doctor, and not minding with the fact that the respective guy was watching them.  
'I had to do a four hour surgery and after the surgery I didn't feel well and I had to pass the entire night in the hospital; but thought you were with your brother.' he said still examine her.  
'Are you okay? Why are you here? You should be resting' she asked quickly.  
Her doctor did a laugh.  
'I'm feeling well, Morgana. I was only tired, I'm not young as I used to be and yesterday it was a very stressful day in the hospital. I only stayed in hospital for safety'.  
It worried her. Gaius had taken care of her when she was sick since she was a baby, not to mention the fact he was a very close friend of her father; she always considered him part of the family.  
'Tell me, what you felt before faint last night?' he asked raising his eyebrow, something typical from him.  
'I felt a deep pain in my stomach; like it was something cutting it deep' she answered not in the mood to remember all that pain again.  
'Do you remember hitting in something?'  
She shook her head.  
'No. I was only tired' she said.  
He packed his doctor's suitcase and stood up.  
'I believe it is nothing that you should worry about; I'm only going to tell you that you need to rest. Anyways, I also need to rest so I can't stay longer. I would say you had luck for your brother's assistant know a little about medicine, and also for be a good friend. Without him I believe your situation would be considerably worse'.  
She didn't answer, only returned her eyes to the tray in her lap.  
'If you feel unwell again, you can call me. If I do not be able to come I will ask someone that I trust' he said and she nodded, hoping that to not happen, the only doctor she trusted was Gaius.  
He smiled to her and soon it was only her and Gwen in the room. 

* * *

.

Merlin was extremely happy in see his guardian again, he was quite worried when he found out that he was not feeling good last night, but apparently he was fine now.  
The old man was crossing the door when Merlin decided to start a conversation, he really misses talking to his once guardian.  
'Are you sure that what Morgana was feeling is nothing we should worry about?'  
Gaius gazed at him for a second.  
'Yes, I believe so. Morgana has always been very sensitive, and sometimes she has those types of fevers' the old man answered.  
'What type of fevers?' Merlin asked trying to make that conversation longer.  
'Emotional fevers. Sometimes our body follows our emotions. It's not that we should not care about this; actually I truly think she needs to rest and avoid anything that can make her feel stressful' he answered.  
He was the reason she was feeling like that, he thought. The pain she was feeling, the fear of letting him getting closer, the apparent nightmares she was having while she was with fever, it all made it clear to him; he was, for some reason, the reason of her pain.  
'But do not worry' the physician said probably noticing how far away his thoughts were 'I already saw her worse than that, more specifically when her father died'.  
'But how her father died? Just out of curiosity' he asked with a smile trying to any cost know more about their new life.  
'Heart attack, but please don't comment anything about it with Morgana, it never does well to her talk about Uther' he answered in an almost whisper.  
'Never' Merlin shook his head quickly.  
The physician nodded and stepped forward but Merlin continued:  
'I was thinking if I could give her a chamomile tea. Do you think it is a good idea?'  
The old man stepped back not showing any sign of irritation, but Merlin knew he was being quite annoying.  
'Yes, I believe a cup of tea would make her good' he answered.  
Gaius stood there visibly waiting for him to say something else, and when he didn't, the old man nodded and crossed the door.  
'I owe you gratitude; if something bad had happened to Morgana, I would not forgive myself' he said before leave. I hope you have a good day  
'It was not your fault if you was not feeling well, and I didn't have anything better to do last night, anyways' Merlin lied with a smile; after all the papers he read for Arthur, he was begging for good night of sleeping, it seems that his body was not completely aware that he was not an old man anymore.  
Gaius bowed and walked away, letting Merlin alone with his thoughts. 

* * *

.  
Gwen was sitting in the edge bed of the bed with her hands still holding hers.  
'I'm glad you're okay' she said with a smile.  
'You will not mention how sweet and helpful the clumsy guy was in taking care of me the whole night, even though he barely knows me?' she asked with a smirk aware that that conversation would come up any moment.  
'Gaius told me to not disturb you, and I know how you hate this topic, so I decided to not tell anything about it today, but now that you said...'  
'No, please don't' Morgana said deeply regretting for had started that conversation.  
'Come on Morgana, this guy is unreal! He was visibly tired last night and he gave up of a whole night of sleeping to take care of you. Gaius told me he left him a lot of voice messages and he said he seemed very worried' Gwen always looked like a spoiled child when she was trying to convince her of something.  
'He could only have left me in the hospital' she said.  
'Gaius told him that it would only make your situation worst; he knows how sensitive you are about hospitals'.  
She was glad that Gaius had warned him about it. Morgana hated hospitals more than any place in the earth, but she had good reasons for that.  
'Can you at least admit that he would be the perfect boyfriend?' Gwen asked full of hope.  
'Okay, perhaps he would, but not for me; I have no interests at him' Morgana said hoping that at least admitting something to her friend she would leave her alone; but deep down she knew it wouldn't happen, it would probably make things worse.  
'Really? So why do you act all nervous when he's around you?' her friend asked with a smirk.  
'I do not act nervous, you're seeing things' she said and her friend laughed.  
'I still think you should ask him out'  
'I already did'.  
Why she gave her that information? Gwen was now with a huge smile in her face like her big plan had finally worked.  
'Actually, it was not like that; I asked him to go with me at the new Italian restaurant, but only because none of my friends likes Italian food'  
'And he accepted?' her friend asked with excitement. In most of the time Morgana loves how excited her friend could be about anything, but sometimes it was really irritating.  
'Yes Gwen, he did. But he's aware that we only going as friends, or almost that, and he seems very okay with it' she answered, but her friend didn't seem even a little disappointed with the facts she stated.  
Morgana never thought she would be so glad in see the dark haired guy entering the room; she could not stand that conversation with Gwen for much longer.  
'I asked Gaius and he told me it would be good for you drink a cup of tea' he said resting a tray in the desk, and giving her the cup of tea.  
She hesitated to accept it, but after a hard glance of Gwen, she took it with a nod.  
'I hope you're not trying to poison me for had ruined your night of sleep' she joked.  
For some odd reason, the guy seemed very disturbed.  
'No, I swear I'm not, I can drink it first if you want' he said franticly.  
Morgana frowned at him. That guy was really thinking that she thought he was trying to kill her? He never heard about sarcasm?  
While she was finding that whole situation incredibly odd, her friend seemed be enjoying it, she could not stop laughing even though she was visibly trying.

* * *

After drinking her tea, Morgana was ready to go home. They were now in front of the door, the clumsy guy returned her bag and after he opened the door to them, and Gwen give her a other hard glanced, she told him with a smile:  
'I don't think I thanked you correctly before, I'm sorry if I was rude I'm just with a lot of thoughts in my head'  
'I can imagine, don't worry' he said.  
'Now I better go, I think you need more resting than I do' she said getting out through the door.  
'Like Arthur would give a free day' she heard he whispered.  
'I don't care about what Arthur will say, he's probably drunk right now and you did something he should have done' she said with indignation. The poor guy was clearly regretting his whispered words.  
'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Do not worry about your job, I know my brother, he will not fire you when he knows it was his fault' she said trying to sound most sweetly possible.  
'Okay, I won't' he nodded with a smile.  
She watched him for a while. That guy was a mystery for her; she was not sure from where he came from, and why he was being so nice to her, and even though she could not fully trust him, she was thankful for everything he did to her.  
'So... bye?' he said, bringing her back to reality.  
She could hear Gwen giggling in her back. Why she had to pass that much time looking at that guy? Now Gwen had one more reason to tease her.  
'Yeah, sure. Bye. I'm sorry for all the trouble I gave you' she said avoiding his eyes.  
'Don't worry, it was the least I could do for you; after all, if was not for you I would not have a job and Vivian's dog probably would've ate my soul and body' he said.  
She laughed; blaming herself for had done such a thing in front of Gwen; now she had enough reasons to not leave her alone the whole day.  
She nodded at him, and after Gwen say goodbye they walked away.

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Guest 1: I agree with you. I can't tell you if Kilgharrah will be back, but I can tell you I'm planning a dragon's return, or almost that.**

**Guest2: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it! I also love her complexity, Morgana is my favorite character on the show.**

**PsalmReader: Thank you! I can tell you that Agravaine's plan is very important to the fanfic.**

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**I'm sorry for the late update; I took a lot of time to write this chapter because at first I was not very happy with it, but hopefully you guys liked it :)**

**I know that I said I was planning some Arthur to this chapter, but it turns out that I will only write about him in the next chapter.**

**About the next chapter: I can't promise you anything, but I believe Arthur will show up, and a certain legendary group too.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry for any error, I'm trying my best to write it correctly.**

**I hope you guys like this chapter!**

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CHAPTER SIX: Arthur's plan

Merlin woke up with a tiny flash of light coming through the window. He was glad that Morgana gave him a free day; at least he could think about all the things that he found out the last days. Arthur was a drunk prat and his grandfather created a water company named Avalon; Arthur didn't seem to care much about his obligations and Merlin was not sure how bottles of water could help to save the world.  
Everything was quite confusing to him, and he wished to have someone to talk to. He met the new Gaius, and he really felt bad for not be able to talk to him about things he wanted to. Gwen was a lovely lady, as always, and she seemed happier than he ever saw her to be; it warmed his heart. Lancelot, he wished to talking to him more often, in this new life he was very similar to his old self, very quite but a gentleman and visibly a good man. He preferred to not remember Lady Vivian, who in this life was collector of monsters.  
About Morgana, she was a mystery for him. At first he thought that this new version of her was like she were once in the past life, a determinate and good heart woman who was always teasing with Arthur. He was happy to know that she was not that evil and heartbroken witch anymore. But he noticed how, between all of them, she was the only one who seemed, somehow, remember something; of course it was her subconscious but it didn't mean he should not be concerned with the fact that maybe her memories could come back someday; he deeply wished that to never happen.

It was a new day now, he was all dressed to work and ready to deal with Arthur's grumpiness. He wondered how he would react with the fact that he passed a whole night taking care of his sister in his place; not to mention his free day at work.

* * *

Merlin arrived the office earlier than usual and most of the employees were not there yet.  
He entered his boss office and soon he saw a stern Arthur standing with crossed arms.  
'Hello, sire. It seems had a nice night; with all this happiness coming through your face!' Merlin said sarcastically and with a smile at his face.  
Arthur, ignoring his assistant's comment, took a deep breath, and gave two steps forward.  
'Gaius told me what you did for my sister when she was feeling sick' he said keeping a serious expression and Merlin was not sure what was passing at his mind in that moment 'He also told me that if was not for you, my sister's situation would be worse' he watched him for a certain time till say 'Thank you'.  
Those two simple words were the last words he heard from Arthur, and it got stuck at his mind all those years. Merlin tried to not cry, it was hard, but he took enough strength to clean his throat and say with a small giggle:  
'What you expected me to do? She got a job for me anyways'  
Arthur passed a few seconds looking at him with a blank expression. He finally moved taking a paper, probably a check, and giving it to him. Merlin was confused, and it seemed that his boss noticed it.  
'What? Did you never saw a check before?' his boss asked a little harshly.  
'It's not it, but what is it for?' Merlin asked, still fuzzy.  
'You passed the whole night taking care of my sister in my place, the least I can do is pay you for that' he said still offering him the check.  
'I'm sorry, sir. I can't accept it' he said.  
His boss gave him a curious glance, and got a little closer.  
'Why not?' he asked.  
'I don't think I should be pay for helping a friend' Merlin said, still confused about his relationship with Morgana; she was not an enemy anymore, but it sounded weird to him refer her as a friend because he could not ignore the images of her evil version coming up at his mind. All the pain she caused him, all the friends he saw dying because of her. Nevertheless, some part of his heart couldn't not feel blame for all of it; perhaps Morgana was destined to be that evil witch, but perhaps he could had prevented it. However, he would never know.  
'Tell me, Merlin; do you have any interests in my sister?'  
Arthur's question brought him back to reality, and he was a little confused with it.  
'I don't understand, sir' he said.  
'Don't be an idiot, Merlin! I'm asking you if you have some romantic interest in my sister' he asked harshly.  
'No, of course not' he answered a little frantically. Why in the world Arthur would think something like that?  
'Are you sure? Because she seems a little too protective when the situation involves you. She practically forced me to give you this job, she helped you with Vivian, and yesterday she almost killed me just because I said I was thinking in fire you' he said.  
All that information made Merlin himself wonder why Morgana was acting like that.  
'As I told you the other day, sire; I believe your sister is a good woman' he finally said.  
'I'll pretend that I believe you and I'll give you a very special job' Arthur stepped away and seated at his chair 'I want you to, let's say, babysitter someone for me'.  
'You're not talking about Vivian's dogs, right?' Merlin asked truly wishing a 'no' as answer.  
'No, I'm talking about a grown woman' Arthur said studying few papers under his table.  
'Lady Vivian, I mean, Vivian? ' he asked, doubting that pass a time with that woman would be better than pass a time with her dogs. At least her dogs liked him, who knows what the odd mood of that woman would cause him.  
Arthur frowned.  
'No, idiot; I'm talking about Morgana' he said leaving Merlin even more confused 'Look, Merlin; I know that she hired you to take care of me like I was a baby, so I'll pay back in her own coin' he took a deep breath, giving a distant look at his table 'Morgana don't like to talk about it, but she's very lonely, mostly after that that jerk broke her heart and even worst after my father died'.  
Merlin noticed the sadness in Arthur's eyes when he mentioned his father.  
'There are only a few persons that she allows to get closer to her, and it seems that you are one of them now, so I want to use that as a vantage' he said sounding very determined.  
Arthur was wrong, Merlin thought. He was the last person that Morgana would allow to get closer. The pain she was feeling was his entire fault and some part of her knew it.  
'I want you to get closer to her, be a friend to her; I see you already doing it but I want you to tell me everything that is disturbing her' he gave a pause 'Everyday you will tell me how she's feeling, if we do not have time to talk about it here in the office, you can tell me out of here' he said.  
Merlin knew that Morgana would not appreciate that idea if she found out, but that was the perfect chance to get closer to Arthur, and he could not waste it.  
'I know it is weird but I'm worry about her, I could ask a few things to Gwen but I think it would not be enough, I need someone closer of me and her at the same time'  
'I accept it' he said before Arthur have the chance to say any other thing.  
Arthur smiled standing up.  
'Great, cause I want you to keep her company today at the reunions, and I hope you like parties because you're going at one with me tonight' he said while taking his black jacket.  
'Where you going? I thought you would pass the day in the office' Merlin asked ready to hear a 'is not from your businesses' as answer.  
'I promised Vivian that I would pass the day with her today. Don't forget to say to Morgana that I want her to replace me again' he answered surprisingly not rudely 'I see you at the Round Table tonight, bye loser!'  
Arthur walked away of the room before Merlin had the chance to ask what the 'Round Table' actually meant or how he would explain to his sister that she would have to make his job.

* * *

Merlin was sitting at his stool beside Gwen's table when he saw Morgana and Gwen entering the office. He stood up quickly.  
'Good morning' he said to them.  
'Good morning, Merlin' Gwen answered smiling and hitting Morgana with the elbow till she at least smile and nod at him, visibly avoiding his eyes.  
'I hope you're feeling better' he said.  
'I'm feeling a lot better now; thank you' she said.  
'I'm glad to hear that' he said 'Anyways, Arthur told me to make you company at the reunions today, it seems he'll be very busy'.  
'What? He knows how Morgana was like the last time she had a whole day of reunions, how can he do such a thing to her?' Gwen sounded very indignant, and Merlin was not sure what to say in that situation.  
'It's okay, Gwen; I know how foolish my brother can be' Morgana said.  
'But if you faint again?' her friend asked, visibly worried.  
'He will be there to help me' she pointed at him with her head 'Right?' she looked at him with a smile. He noticed the effort she was doing to look at his eyes.  
'Sure' he answered smiling.

* * *

They were now in a building not very far from the Avalon office. Morgana was visibly trying to be nice with him, but most of the time she avoided looking at his eyes. He tried to start a conversation but it always end up being very quick.  
They were sitting in a large table, with some half aged man in suit. It was quite uncomfortable the way some of them were looking at him. Merlin knew very well what those looks meant; people were always looking at him like that when he was homeless. He was only an assistant and those men were not happy in have to share their precious table with him. He always got upset with himself for never getting used to those glances. He told Morgana that there was no need to sit, but she insisted till he accepts it, something that he deeply regretted.  
'Don't worry' she whispered at him 'They are only jealous of your hair cut, most of them do not even have hair as you see'  
Merlin tried not laugh loud, and she did the same; such act of them was visibly irritating the prejudiced suits men.  
It was weird to admit it, but Morgana's comment made him fell a lot more comfortable.

* * *

After a few minutes of waiting, the table was full of visibly rich mans in suit. When Merlin thought they would finally begin the reunion, two familiar faces entered the room; the dark hair man was visibly Agravaine, Arthur's uncle, the man who betrayed him and had a alliance with Morgana, the evil Morgana; the other man was Sarrum, he never had the unfortunate to meet that barbarian alive, but he saw his dead's face once and could affirm that that man was him in a new life. Merlin stopped to breathe for awhile; he heard what that man was capable of, he heard what he had did to Morgana and Aithusa, and he blamed himself everyday for it; even though he only heard about that terrified event after Morgana's death.

* * *

The reunion was finally over, and Merlin got really impressed with Morgana's behavior. She was the only woman in the room, and visibly the smatter as well. Every time she did a good suggestion or gave a good response he could see the anger in some suit mans face's; it really amused him to see all those prejudiced jerks have any better suggestion or a even a good response to give to the lady. Merlin lived for many years in many places, and he learn to never doubt of the power of a woman; he had met a lot of females in a leader position, and doing their job in a formidable way; Gwen was very good example of that.  
He wondered himself where those mans were living, a cave perhaps?

Most of the men had gone away of the room, and when they were ready to do the same, Agravaine said with Sarrum by his side.  
'Wait, Morgana. Mr. Chase and I have something to tell you' Agravaine said with a half smile.  
Morgana nodded. Merlin stepped closer to her; he couldn't trust them, especially Sarrum.  
'As we all know Sarrum got a very small percentage in the company. I talked to him about my new project and he agreed with me saying that it is a amazing chance to extended the company business' he said leaving Merlin very curious about the project.  
'You should contact me first Agravaine; after all, I have the second biggest part of the company, so before tell your plans for my grandfather's company to a 5% owner, you should talk to me about your project' she said severely.  
'I'm sorry, Morgana; but I told you that Arthur is very aware of every single part of my plan' he said in his defense, but still with a calm tone.  
'My brother might have the biggest part of the company, but I'm still a huge part of it' she said with determination.  
'There's no need to worry, dear; Agravaine knows exactly what he's doing' Sarrum said, with an arch smile, making Merlin unconsciously get even closer to the dark hair lady. The bald man glanced at his wristwatch 'Well, I have other reunion to go right now; I guess our conversation will have to wait to another day'.  
He gave them a last arch glance before cross the door with Agravaine by his side.  
'You can step back now' she said, not looking at his face.  
He only noticed how close his body was from hers when she said so. He stepped back quickly.  
'I'm sorry' he said, a little awkward.

* * *

They were walking to the outside of the building when Merlin decided to start a conversation.  
'You seem very protective about Avalon, right?' Merlin said, smiling. He would do everything he could to know more about the company, because for him, it might have a great importance to Arthur's destiny.  
'My grandfather gave his own blood to raise this company, I don't think it is fair to let all his work fell in the wrong hands' she said, looking to her own shoes.  
'So you think that the company is not safe in Arthur's hands' he asked, remembering the time that Morgana was ready to do anything to get Arthur's throne.  
'What? No!' she said in a tone of surprise, she acted like he had said the most absurd thing in the world 'Arthur might be a stupid, drunk and confused, but he is a good man. I think there is no one in this world better than Arthur to be in the company's charge'.  
Her words really surprised him. Once, a long time ago, Morgana believed that Arthur would be a great king, but that was before she knows her right to the throne and before she turn against Camelot; but in this new life Morgana, is very aware about her rights, and that made Merlin wonder how Morgana would react about her right of the throne if she knew it before she ally to Morgause.  
After all this time, Morgana was a big 'What if?' for him.  
'Why do you think that?' he asked, not sure about what to say. He had to put in his mind that he was not talking to the evil Morgana, or even to the Lady Morgana, he was talking to the new Morgana, someone that he had to admit he didn't know much about.  
'Because you might think he's an idiot, everyone might think that, but I know my brother; he's a leader, a real one. He is one of the most amazing persons that you could ever met, he's only confused and inconsequent, but he has reasons for act like that' there were tears trying to get out of her eyes, but she was visibly holding it.  
Merlin was also holding his tears. He had no idea why Morgana was telling those things, but he agreed to every single word of it. He didn't know much about this new Arthur, but hearing her words made him be sure of something that he never doubt about; Arthur was a leader and a good man, and he would always be.  
'I'm sorry; you might think I'm crazy right now' she said with a small smile, and wiping a tear away.  
'You don't have to be sorry for be proud of your brother, I believe you have good reasons for that' he said smiling.  
'Yes, I have' she said.  
They stood there watching each other till Merlin decided to do something about Arthur's plan.  
'Do you remember that Italian restaurant you told me?' he asked, and she nodded with a confused glance 'Do you still want me to keep you company?'

* * *

**I'm really sorry about the late update, I was a little confused about what to write in this chapter, but now I can say I'm more organized and ready to keep going.**

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**Reviews:**

**Meli: OMG! Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you're having a good time reading it; it means a lot for me :)**

**Guest: Thank you! :D**

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**I know I promised the appearance of a certain legend group, but they will show up in the next chapter, I can affirm you guys.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry for any error!**

**I hope you guys like it!**

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**CHAPTER SEVEN: The Round Table**

His day of work was done, and it was odd to admit that receiving orders from Morgana was a lot least painful than receiving orders from Arthur; she even offered him her table when he was helping her with some documents.  
Merlin got really surprised when he saw the picture frame on her table; in the picture it was Uther, Arthur and Morgana happily smiling to the camera like a truth happy family that he never saw them to be.

When Gwen was packing her bag, Merlin asked her in an almost whisper.  
'Can I ask you something?' for some reason that he was not sure about, she glanced at Morgana, who was reading some papers in her table, before to answer him with a nod and a half smile.  
'What is the Round Table?' he asked and she gave him a puzzled glance, it seems it was not the question she thought he would ask.  
'What do you think it is?' she asked him with a smile.  
'Well, I know, in brief, that in the Arthurian Legend it was the table where Arthur reunited his most trustful knights to discuss important decisions' he answered, but he knew that the round table meant more than it in the old times.

Gwen laughed while Merlin stared at her a little confused. She was laughing in such amusing way that made Merlin himself giggle a little.  
'I don't understand; why are you laughing?' he asked.  
'I'm sorry, Merlin; I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that everyone knows that the Round Table is a nightclub close from here' Gwen said, quitting the laughing 'But why are you asking me that?'  
Merlin was not sure if tell the truth would be a good idea, especially for the fact that Morgana was around, but he decided to say it anyway.  
'Arthur invited me to meet him there' he answered and Gwen frowned.  
'Weird, you're not the type of guy who could be included at his 'knights' team' Merlin decided to play a little with his friend and gave her a 'What you mean that?' glance raising his eyebrow.  
'Not that I think you're not cool enough to hang out with Arthur, is just that you have nothing to do with him or his friends. All the knights are actually very nice, if they were not I would not be dating one; I would say that only Arthur is a idiot. I'm just trying to say that you don't seem very...'  
'She's only trying to say that you're a little too nerdy to hang out with my brother' Morgana said with an amusing smile standing beside him while she straightened the purse strap in her shoulder.  
'Morgana!' reproached Gwen while Merlin was holding his laugh.

See Gwen in such situation reminded him the young Gwen that he met when he first arrived Camelot; she used to explain the true meaning of her words when she thought the person was misunderstanding her, and it usually used to make the situation even more awkward. He missed to see that version of his friend; she was so full of life and innocent; very different from the sad and heartbroken queen that she became after a lot of years of hurt.  
'It's not that, Merlin; please don't listen to her' she said a little bewildered.  
He glanced to the woman by his side that seemed to really be enjoying the situation.  
'Don't worry, Gwen; I know I'm not the type of guy that Arthur would wish as a friend' he said, trying to easy a little Gwen suffering 'I don't even know why he wants to meet me there' he lied.  
'I know why' Morgana said leaving him a little concerned. Did she know about Arthur's plan? He truly hoped not, it would ruin everything 'He wants to make it up to you because you took care of me'.  
Merlin was relieved; at least his plan still could work.  
'He didn't need to; I didn't do that for him' those words sounded a little differently from what he truly wished it to sound. He was trying to be nice, but he thought it was a little over the top; even though it had a certain true on it. See Morgana in such situation made him feel very confused; he blamed himself for her pain, even though he didn't have fully forgive her. Deep down in his heart he knew the reason he was so confused about Morgana; she remind him his failing; he failed with everyone he cared about, including himself and his destiny, and for some reason, she remind him all of that pain. She was his worst enemy, but he could not hate her with not hating himself in the process. Actually, he wasn't sure about his feelings about her, perhaps he never was. During his years of loneliness, the only things that he felt when he remembered Morgana was blame, regret; but confront her after all that time made him feel confused about his feelings.  
There was silence in the office, Morgana seemed very uncomfortable with that situation, and he was not feeling very differently. He glanced to Gwen and for some reason she was half smiling at them. Why was she looking at them like that?  
'I think I'm going; my king and his knights are probably waiting for me' he said, laughing mentally with the fact that his joke was actually true.  
'Well, good luck. And I have to warn you; if I was you, just for safety, I would stay close to Lancelot. Arthur and his knights can be a little mean with their new friends' she said.  
'Thank you, I'll remember that' he said with a nod 'Good night' he said to the two young woman while he walked away to meet his king in his new Round Table.

* * *

.

'You're quite thoughtful today, what happened?' Gwen asked.  
Gwen would pass the night with in Morgana's apartment because Lancelot would have the 'boys night' with the Round Table, so she offered herself to have a 'girls night' with her; but deep down, Morgana knew that her friend was doing everything she could to not left her alone for a long time. After her night of fever, Gwen was acting a little over protective, and she was not the only one; Gaius was calling her everyday to know how she was feeling; Arthur was leaving her messages during the day, something that only did when she was feeling sick, and even the clumsy guy was being nicer than usual. With all that attention, she was starting to be concern about the fever.  
'Do you know something I don't?' Morgana asked leaving her friend with a confused expression.  
'What do you mean?' she asked.  
'Everyone is acting a little too nice lately; to be more specific, after my night of fever. Did Gaius tell you anything that he didn't tell me?'  
Gwen giggled.  
'If you want to know if you are with any fatal disease; no, you're not. We are only concerned about the fact you might have an emotional fever again' Gwen said gently.  
'I'm fine; I only had a stressful day that day. I'm feeling a lot better now' she said.  
Morgana knew that was not only the stress of her work that made her feel that way. The pain she felt that night, it was not something normal, even though Gaius told her to not worry about it. What really intrigued her was the fact that the pain was the same of her nightmare, the nightmare that was still haunting her every day.  
'When will you accept the fact that we care about you?' Gwen asked.  
'I accept it and I'm very thankful for that; I just don't want to you guys be worry about me for nothing' she said in a determined tone.  
'Okay, I promise to not worry about it anymore' her friend said.  
Gwen waited a few seconds till give her an arch smile.  
'Can we talk about what Merlin told you today?' she asked a little enthusiastic.  
'It depends; he told me a lot of things today' Morgana said, pretending to not understand what her friend was trying to say.  
'Really?' she asked in an excited tone of surprise.  
'Of course, about the company' she said, happy to see the disappointed expression in her friend's face.  
'Don't be silly Morgana, you know exactly what I'm talking about' Gwen said 'I told you he did all that for you, and I was right. He likes you, why can't you just admit it?'  
'Because he does not' she said determined.  
'How can you be so sure about it?' Gwen asked probably thinking it was a good argument.  
Morgana was not sure how to answer that question, she only knew that a part of her brain knew that that guy didn't like her, that he never did and he never would. She was aware that his actions was telling something different, but for some reason her heart didn't allow to her believe that the clumsy guy actually felt something good about her. She didn't know why she was having that feeling; perhaps it was the pain that Alvarr and her father had left in her heart. No, it was not only it.  
'It doesn't matter what he feels about me; the feeling is not mutual' she finally said, wishing that conversation to end.  
'Of course, that's why you asked him out' Gwen said sarcastically.  
'I did not ask him out' she stated 'We're only going to that Italian restaurant tomorrow because I don't want to go there alone. I was glad that he seemed had forgotten about it, but it seems that he decided to remember it today' regretting to give her friend that amount of information; she really needed to stop doing that.  
'Wait, now he asked you out?' Gwen asked with a surprised and amused tone.  
'No, he didn't' Morgana answered quickly 'He probably wants to eat some Italian food. What's the matter with a guy and a girl have dinner together without any romantic intentions?'  
'Any' Gwen answered with a small laugh but then rested her hand in hers with a warm glance 'Look Morgana, I'm your friend since we were kids; I know you better than anyone and I know when someone intrigue you and that guy does' her friend was speaking with a serious tone, but still gently.  
'You finally said something right' Morgana said 'Be intrigued with someone doesn't mean you like someone'  
Gwen took a deep breath, perhaps this time she would leave her alone.  
'You know, I won't say anything about it anymore; it's your life and you do whatever you want with it. But as a friend, I only advise you one thing: don't be afraid to let people in, you might preserve yourself to meet terrible persons but you'll also lose the opportunity to meet amazing ones'  
Gwen always was good adviser. Even though her friend was always leaving her in uncomfortable situations, in the end of the day she was the only one who really could calm her heart.  
Morgana gave her a gentle smile.  
'I know you're only saying those things for my own sake, and I'm very thankful for have you to take care of me. I just don't know why I have this strange feeling about this guy, I know he seems nice, he is nice, I just think that among all the persons I ever known, he's the most difficult to allow to get closer' she said, just wanting to share that information with someone, even if this person was her unflagging cupid.  
'You know that the persons that we most care about are the ones who can break our hearts the most. We both know that you had your heart broken for people that you loved. What if this sensation you're feeling about this guy is just your fear of have your heart broken again? Perhaps you would not fear him so much if you didn't have feelings about him' she said with no arch smiles or even excited tones.  
Gwen's words made sense, she had to admit it. She was not sure about her feelings about that guy, she didn't know if it was good or bad, perhaps both? She didn't know. '_No good'_ a voice yelled in her head. What was going on with her? Why only talk about that guy made her feel so puzzled?

* * *

.

Merlin was in front of the nightclub, it was not difficult to find, but he hoped Arthur to not kill him for his late. He never was in a nightclub before. Well, what a homeless old man would do in such place, anyway?

After he entered it, he was impressed with the amount of people on the place, it was very loud and there were people dancing and drinking everywhere. 'Gwaine would love here' he thought with a smile. He missed his friend and that 'modern tavern' made him miss him even more.  
'There you are' he heard a familiar voice 'Thought that you had died in the road' Arthur said with a drink at his hand, he didn't seem drunk yet.  
'Die is not my thing, sir' he said, trying to not sound nostalgic.  
'No 'sir' Merlin, tonight you are my guest to join me in the Round Table' Arthur said resting his arm in his shoulder and showing the place proudly like he was the owner.  
'But before I show you to my knights, we have to talk'  
Arthur was almost dragged him to the nightclub's bar. They set down and his boss quickly gave him a drink.  
'So, how was the day today?' asked Arthur before ask other drink.  
'Well, I woke up with a little pain in my left arm, probably because I slept over it; after that I woke up, I took a sho...'  
'Not you, your idiot! I'm asking about Morgana' the blonde young man said visibly not in the mood for joking.  
Merlin waited a few seconds till say:  
'I'm quite sure she took a shower too'  
Arthur hit the back of his head.  
'Okay, she seemed quite well today'  
Arthur waited to him to say anything else.  
'Okay, so she didn't faint or even seemed be feeling sick?' Arthur asked with curiosity and worry in his words.  
'Not that I noticed' he said shaking his head.  
'So tell me what happened. Did you both talked or anything? Do you have any clue of what might be disturbing her?' Arthur was visibly worried with his sister condition. It really made Merlin feel bad about it because he knew that the cause of Morgana's pain was himself. He was not sure why, and he truly wished to be wrong about it, but he knew it was the truth.  
He cleaned his throat.  
'No, I don't know what might be disturbing her' he lied feeling a slight pain in his heart. Arthur gave him a tough and inquisitive glance.  
'You're lying to me; I know you are. Merlin, I'm serious, what's going on with my sister?' he asked, practically begging.  
Merlin couldn't tell him the truth even if he wanted to, so he decided to say what he noticed during the day that did not involved his past with his beloved sister.  
'Perhaps she was just tired of the reunions, and feeling stressful with the company's business. She's quite good with it, but perhaps it is too much to she handle by herself' Merlin said and he could notice a certain blame in Arthur's eyes.  
'She's so stubborn! She always was, since she was only a kid' he drink his drink a little aggressively 'I told her to leave everything with Agravaine, he knows what he's doing, but she insist in not trusting him'  
'She might have good reasons for that' Merlin said hoping to his boss do not freak out.  
'Nonsense. Agravaine is a very smart man, he helped my father for long years, and my father always talked about how loyal he was' Arthur said with a distant look to the bar in front of him.  
'Did she ever tell you why she doesn't trust him?' Merlin insisted.  
'She said that there were a few rumors about him stealing some money of the company, but my father himself said that those were nothing but rumors; he said that my uncle always was loyal to him' Arthur said.  
Merlin knew how blind Arthur and Uther could be in the past life, and it seemed that it didn't have changed. He hoped to be wrong about it. But why Morgana would be so reluctant about accept Agravaine? Wasn't him an ally to her in the past life? _'Past life, Merlin. She's not that Morgana anymore' _a voice inside of his head said. That entire situation with Morgana was confusing his mind, he wished to trust her, and perhaps he could trust her someday. After failing with his past, he became wiser and his advices helped a lot of people, but it seemed that follow his own advices was harder than he imagined.  
'Perhaps that will be an inappropriate question but; who you trust the most? Morgana or Agravaine?' Merlin asked, trying to do what he would've done if the situation didn't involve him that much. He always found incredible how easier it was to think straight when you're not involved with the situation.  
Arthur gave him a furious glance, for a second he thought that his boss would throw the seat on him, or at least his drink; but after a few seconds staring at his assistant, the once king returned his eyes to the drink in his hand.  
'That's a stupid question' he said keeping the angry expression 'I trust both of them, they are the only family that I have left' he noticed the strength his boss was doing to not let his tears fall.  
'I'm not trying to make you choose between the two of them, I'm only asking you: who you trust the most?' Merlin said in a calm tone.  
'Our conversation ends here, Merlin' he left his seat and signed to Merlin to follow him.  
'Come on, I will introduce you to my knights' he said.

* * *

_Are you serious?_

Merlin was holding his tears the most he could. That truly was the Round Table, not for the fact that the table was round, but because of the persons that were sitting on it. Sir Leon, Sir Percival, Sir Elyan, Sir Lancelot and Sir Gwaine, now with no 'sirs' included.  
'Hey guys, I would like to introduce you my new assistant and personal prat, Merlin' said Arthur with his arm friendly around his shoulder.  
'So you are Merlin, huh?' said Percival smiling 'Lancelot and Arthur told us what you did for Morgana, you proved yourself honor enough to seat with us'  
'And brave too' Gwaine said leaving Merlin confused while the other 'knights' laughed.  
'I don't understand. Why am I brave?' asked Merlin a little fuzzy, still trying to cover the emotions in his heart. He missed those guys a lot.  
'For dealing with Morgana. That woman looks like a lion in a cage' Gwaine answered drinking his drink.  
'She's my sister' reminded him Arthur, a little intimidate.  
'I know, that's why I have no doubts you both are siblings' said Gwaine.  
Arthur was faked to suffocate Gwaine with his arm, and soon all of them were laughing; including Merlin, he didn't have so much fun for a very long time.

* * *

The night was very fun, he passed the most part of it talking, laughing and drinking, actually he barely drink; he had to keep his eyes on Arthur, and he always preferred to keep sober.

Arthur seemed quite happy, but even the knights told him to him to slow down with the drinking. In the middle of the night he wasn't saying anything with sense and he was falling from his seat all the time. His presence that in the beginning was being quite joyful now was being quite annoying.  
'Come on, my king; it is time to go to bed' said Gwaine helping him to stand while Lancelot took his keys. Lancelot told Merlin that he was not drinking the whole night to leave Arthur safe in home; Gwen had ask him to do that because she didn't trusted Arthur going home alone. He told him that Gwen was quite worried about Morgana, and it made himself to be a little concern about Arthur. He also told him that the siblings might not seem to, but they were very close; they had passed through a lot together, he didn't gave him any details, Lancelot was quite subtle, but he could noticed that Uther's death had caused a lot of damage in the siblings, especially Morgana.  
'What that jerk is doing here?' he asked with a fuzzy voice while Gwaine was holding him to not fall.  
Arthur was looking over the crowd in front of them. Merlin was not sure, but it seemed he was looking to a blonde guy seating with a woman with the same hair color. Merlin was not sure, but it seemed he already had seen that guy's face before; well, he met a lot of people so that would not be a surprise.  
Arthur tried to step forward, but Gwaine, and his drunk condition, didn't allowed him.  
'What are you trying to do, man?' asked Gwaine.  
'Nothing... Leave me' Arthur tried to push his friend, but he failed.  
'You're not going to cause trouble again, Arthur; the last time you was practically banished from the nightclub; this time you'll be' said Elyan. Gwen was his sister in this life too, and she asked him to keep eyes on Arthur as well.  
Arthur didn't say anything, and seemed to have accepted the fact it was time to go home. They walked to the exit and suddenly Merlin heard an unexpected noise coming behind his back.  
It was Arthur; apparently he had knocked down the guy he had called 'jerk' a few minutes early. Merlin was not sure how Arthur found strength to do such act, he was barely standing up alone (actually, Gwaine was still holding him).  
The guy stood up with blood in a side of his mouth. He was smirking a little provocative.  
'So sad to see you in such situation Mr. Evans, your sister don't deserve a brother like you' he said wiping the blood of his mouth.  
'Wash your damn mouth before to mention my sister!' yelled Arthur furiously.  
The guy did a small laugh, visibly enjoying seeing Arthur in such situation.  
That man, he was not a strange for Merlin; he was not sure where he had met him, perhaps he had came back from Camelot too, or not.  
'I'm so sorry for Morgana; she has to take care of the whole company's businesses alone while her brother enjoys his youth and money. Do not surprise me that she was delighted by me; she never had a good example of man in her life anyway'  
Arthur was furious and now Gwaine was needing Lancelot help to hold the furious drunk man.  
'Come on, honey; our time is too much precious to waste with this guy' he said to the woman by his side and walked away.

* * *

After Arthur goes away in Lancelot's car, Merlin asked to Gwaine:  
'Who was that guy?'  
Gwaine did a small laugh.  
'He's the jerk who played with Morgana's heart' Gwaine looked back to the nightclub's door and then continued 'His name is Alvarr and he used to work in Avalon; he played his charm on Morgana till he gets her trust and consequently her heart. He dated her and to her he was the perfect man, till she found out he had a girlfriend and both of them were setting to get Uther trust and grow in the company. She was broken when she found out, but her father didn't took her side and didn't fire him; he told her she was only being spoiled and it couldn't affect the company, . Luckily, Avalarr end up finding a better job in Sarrum's company, an odd bald man...'  
'I know who he is, keep going' said Merlin, too much focus on the story to bother with Sarrum existence in that moment.  
'Well, that's it; Morgana was used, her father acted like an idiot as always, and Arthur end up having to deal with a stubborn father and a heart broken sister. Every time he sees Alvarr he acts like that. You might do anything you want with Arthur, but don't mess with the people he care about' Gwaine finished leaving Merlin quite thoughtful with all that information.  
Alvarr? Now he remembered who that guy was; he was the warlock that convinced Morgana to steal the Crystal of Neahtid.

It seems that they inner self didn't have changed much in this new life, Merlin was very aware of that now.

* * *

**Thank you so much everyone who's reading it! You guys are awesome!**

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**Reviews:**

**PsalmReader: I'm so glad you're still reading it! And loved your questions! It's so interesting that I actually know the answers for all of them; but I can't tell any, I'm sorry :(**  
**Agravaine and Sarrum's plan, and the water, are very important to this fanfic. I believe that Arthur has a lot to grow and Merlin, Gwen and even Morgana will have a lot to do with it.**

**Guest 1: Thank you! I love to write their strange interaction, I'm so glad you like it as well. About Arthur, we still are going to see a lot about him.**

**Meli: Thank you so much! Believe me, I'm already planning this part of this story, I can't promise anything, but I believe it will not take too long.**

**Guest2: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it! You're right about the siblings, in this fanfic they indeed are very close, and they don't carry the load of their former lifes. I can't tell you if they memories will come back or not (but I already know the answer), but I would say that I totally agree with you! About Merlin, It had passed a lot of years, he became a lot of wiser; but I believe it still a little confusing to him to know what is the right choice (or least choose the right choice). I think it will be a lot of inner wars for him in this fanfic (and not only for him).**

**You guys ROCK! I'm so glad for your reviews! It really makes me happy!**

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**About the updates… I think I'll be updating every two weeks for now, I'm sorry :(**

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**To the next chapter… Well, Mergana and Italian food, perhaps? :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm sorry for any error.**

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT: Dining With The Enemy**

Merlin got a little early in the office and he was not sure if his boss would come up to work after the last night. He was tired; his body was not totally used with his new young body, but he believed it would get better after a certain time.  
He was sitting in his stool, he was kind of getting used to it, when the first familiar face of the morning came through the door.  
It was Morgana; she was carrying two coffees in her left hand and her phone in the other. She was probably texting someone, and visibly not paying attention to anything in front her. Now he knew the reason why they had met each other in a 'coffee incident' in this new life.  
He only noticed he was chuckling when she stared at him with a confused and a little reproached expression.  
'Why are you laughing at me?' she asked a little grumpy while she laid the coffees and her bag in her table.  
'It's nothing, and good morning to you too' he smiled sarcastically; Gwaine did a good observation the last night, there was no doubt that Morgana and Arthur were related.  
His smile faded, for a moment he forgot everything that happened between all of them; the pain, the hatred, the betrayal. He felt a slight tightness in his chest; he needed to stop thinking about the past and start to be grateful for had got a second chance. Get worried about a dead past or even about an unborn future would only make things worse.  
'Gwen told me she already bought herself a coffee, so if you want one you can take hers' she said analyzing some papers in her table.  
'Thank you' he said with nod while taking the coffee.  
He waited to her say anything, but when she didn't he decided to do a useful question.  
'Do you know if Arthur is coming to the office today?' he asked a little casually.  
'No, he's not; he's going to play tennis with Gwaine today. I'm surprised he didn't ask you to go with him; he would probably make you his servant' she said not bothering in look at him.  
_Interesting choice of words._  
'Can I help you with something then?' he asked.  
She took a deep breath. He was annoying her that was clear, and she was visibly determined to not look at his eyes. Her expression changed suddenly; it seemed that her head was processing some sort of idea.  
'Did Arthur give you any papers to read lately?' Morgana asked finally looking at his face.  
He nodded a little confused about the question.  
'What they were about?' she asked with curiosity.  
Merlin was not sure why she was asking him those things, but he presumed by the determination in her voice that it was quite important.  
'Well, it was about Avalon water's quality, why are you asking me that?' he asked not sure if it was a wise question.  
She watched him for a certain time before stand up and start to walk.  
'Follow me' it sounded like an order, and he hesitated a little before follow her quick steps. 

* * *

.  
What the hell she was doing? She barely knew that guy; she couldn't trust such important information at him. It was not right, and mostly important it didn't feel right. However, he could be her only chance to know what Agravaine was really planning, to know what was missing from Arthur's eyes.  
Morgana opened her office room door quickly. She barely goes there, she never liked the idea of being stuck in an office room the whole day alone, she preferred to work with the other employees, it always felt more comfortable working like that. The room was only used to keep important documents.  
She turned around to see a confused clumsy guy watching her office like it was another planet.  
'Tell me, can I trust you?' she said finding that situation, for some reason, slightly familiar.  
He cleared his throat; she had no idea why his eyes were wet.  
'Of course' he said with a slightly trembling voice.  
Morgana was not sure why that guy was acting so emotional and it made her to feel even more awkward. She changed her gaze to her shoes, she had passed a lot of time facing his eyes and it was not pleasant to her. Every time she looked at his blue eyes, it felt... She was not sure what that feeling was like, but if she had to make a comparison it would probably be like a knife cutting her stomach. She froze; the images and feelings of her nightmare coming back to her mind, she shook her head before she could feel all that pain again.  
'I don't trust Agravaine, Arthur is too blind to notice what his uncle is capable of. I know that Agravaine is up for something and it seems that he got Sarrum help' she said.  
For some reason, the clumsy guy's fist closed a little harshly when she mentioned Mr. Chase's name. She had no idea why he did such act, but she had to admit she was glad to know that she was not the only one who seemed to dislike that nasty man. Morgana never liked him, actually it was something more than dislike, she disgusted him for some reason that she never fully understood.  
'I know it might be confusing, but I need your help and I need you to trust me' she said using all her strength to stare at his eyes.  
'I'll help you' his voice was still trembling 'I trust you'  
She noticed he was about to sob. It confused her, a lot. He was looking at her with so much pain in his eyes that she could swear he had done something very terrible to her; which was not possible, they barely knew each other.  
'Are you okay?' she decided to ask gently.  
'Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I?' he said, turning his face visibly trying to hide the tear he was wiping off.  
'I think it's better to us to talk about it later, I'll get you some water' she said having no idea of what was going on.  
She offered him the chair to seat and then walked away.

* * *

His hands were shaking; he couldn't hold those tears anymore. For some reason, all the pain he had felt all those years were yelling to come out and they were being succeed. Merlin was crying hard while holding himself to not scream. His quick talk with Morgana revived all the pain he had to deal all those long years. He always felt like he could had saved her, like he could had prevented her to be that evil witch, Camelot eternal enemy.  
He betrayed her first, he failed with her first, and it reminded him all the other persons he had failed in his life. He had failed with Arthur, he had failed with Gwen, he had failed with Gaius, with Albion, with his destiny. He didn't blamed Morgana or Mordred for his failing, he failed with them first after all; no, he blamed himself, if there was someone that Merlin truly blamed for his pain, it was himself.  
He felt a gentle touch in his arm; his forehead was resting in the table edge and he only noticed that when he had to raise his head to face Morgana. She was giving him a gentle but apprehensive glance while she offered him a glass of water.  
He took it carefully to not spill with his shaking hands.  
She sat in the chair in front of him, now only a table separating both of the once enemies.  
'I'm sorry, I didn't know you were having a tough morning' she said while he sipped the water.  
He tried to answer, but the only thing he was able to do was smile sadly while shaking his head mad with himself for being in such situation. He was supposed to be the one helping them, not the upset of it.  
'I think it is better to you go home' she said, for some reason, with a slight tremble voice.  
'No' he said with all the strength that he found 'There's no need, I'm okay' he lied and something really unexpected happened.  
Morgana touched his hand that was resting over the table. It was visibly an awkward touch, he could notice the effort she was doing to do such act; but it didn't take off the warm of it. She was visibly trying to comfort him, he could notice how awkward and uncomfortable that whole situation was for her, but he appreciated her try.

She took her hand off like his skin was burning hers somehow, and he gave her a acknowledgment smile. For some reason, her act made him to feel oddly better.  
After a certain time of awkward silence he asked in a calm voice:  
'Why do you need my help?'  
She seemed a little fuzzy, and took deep breath before say:  
'You're Arthur's assistant; you can read his documents without any suspicion from Agravaine' she answered.  
'Why are you so sure that Agravaine is up for something?' he asked, very curious to hear the answer.  
'It's hard to explain; I only have this strong and strange feeling that he's up for something, that I can't trust him' she said a little frantically 'I'm sorry, you're probably thinking I'm crazy'  
'No' he said quickly 'I don't think that. You know, my mom always said that when a woman feel that something is wrong, something probably is'.  
Remember his mother warmed and hurt his heart at the same time. He missed her more than he could explain.  
'Your mom is a wise woman' she said with warm a little sad smile.  
'She was' he said clearing his throat; he didn't want to sob again.  
'I'm sorry' she said clearing her throat as well. Now it was her who seemed to be holding a sob 'I know how it is to lost someone you love, no one deserve such pain'  
She was looking at him with wet eyes, and he noticed the pain it was on it. If she was talking about Uther or not, he was no sure, but for some reason he felt a certain guilt in her green eyes; he knew it was guilt because he knew that feeling very well.  
'It might be great to have a mother' she finally said.  
'It is' he said the most gentle that could sound.  
There was other silence till Gwen open the door not even a bit subtle.  
'Oh, there you are' she said to Morgana with a few papers in her hands and not seeming to notice his presence 'What happened?' she asked probably noticing her friend's wet eyes.  
'Nothing' said Morgana giving her a visibly fake smile.  
'What happened to you both? Are you okay?' Gwen asked visibly worried after see Merlin devastated face. Well, he thought it was devastated, he cried his eyes out a few minutes early.  
'Yes, Gwen; we're okay' he said standing up 'Morgana was only telling me about the sad movie she watched last night' he lied uncertain if that terrible apology would work.  
'The Hangover?' she asked in a 'are you serious?' tone 'Has anyone ever told you that you are a terrible liar?' she asked him with a mock smirk.  
'Yeah, and they are quite wrong' he said, quite sad for that be truth.  
Gwen chuckled, and he heard Morgana getting up from her chair. Before the three of them get out of the office room, Merlin asked a little curious:  
'Whose office is this?'  
'Mine' Morgana answered.  
He gave her an intrigued glance. It didn't make sense, if she had her own office why she would prefer to work with the other employees?

* * *

Merlin passed the whole day helping Morgana again. For some reason, she didn't mention her secret plan again; which upset him because he was truly interested on it. Perhaps Morgana was right, Agravaine and Sarrum were up for something, and he would not rest till he find out what they were planning. He felt that it could be very connected with Arthur destiny and he had to do something about it.

The night had come and Gwen was packing her stuffs while Morgana was still sitting in her chair very concentrated in her reading.  
'She really cares about the company, doesn't she?' he whispered to Gwen not changing his gaze from the dark hair woman.  
'She denies till death, but she cares more about this company than anyone in its charge' said Gwen also watching the concentrated woman.  
'Do you mean Agravaine and Arthur?' he asked feeling a little sad for the fact that his king was not acting as he should.  
Gwen chuckled.  
'Agravaine is a profiteer, while Arthur is a complete idiot' she said and he turned his head to her with a curious smile.  
'You really don't like Arthur, don't you?' he asked, finding very interesting the way she always talked about her once beloved husband.  
'It's not like I don't like him, deep down I admire him. He had to be a rock after their father died' she change her glance to her feet, it seemed she was remembering something gloomy 'Morgana was inconsolable when it happened and he had to deal with his father mourning and a depressed sister at the same time' she turned her face to watch him and he could see a certain sadness in her eyes 'Arthur is a brave man, and also a great leader, but he don't believe in himself and end up doing everything wrong'  
Merlin watched her for awhile before ask a little casual:  
'Why everyone keeps saying that he's a leader? I don't see him doing much to prove such conclusion' he said, very aware that they were right about Arthur.  
'He took care of the company before Morgana gets better, and he did that better than anyone, even better than his own father' she changed her gaze to Morgana 'I think the day that the Evans siblings team up to take care of the company, will be the day that Avalon will indeed raise' there was a sad but also dreamy smile in her face.  
Merlin got a little surprise about Gwen's daydream; Arthur and Morgana working together for the same good reason? It sound a little too dreamy, but then he remembered the actual bond of the siblings; they were close, he noticed, they cared and took care of each other in a way that really warmed Merlin's heart. It remind him the old times when even when they were not aware about their blood connection, they cared and protected each other from anyone who would try to hurt them. For so many years of his life he thought he would never see them teasing (healthy) and taking care of each other again; now he was seeing it with his own eyes and he wished to be happier about it; unfortunately his heart was too broken to fully believe that something so good would last.  
'Why are you both looking at me like that?' she asked giving them a fast glance before get her eyes back to the papers.  
'We're only admiring your beauty' Gwen joked with a half smile.  
Merlin chuckled a little bashfully, and he saw Morgana giving her friend a hard glance over her reading glasses.  
'Well, I gotta go now. I have to take Lancelot to the airport, he'll be out of the town for the whole week and I want to spend the most time that I can with him' she said taking her bag 'I hope you both have fun tonight, bye!'  
She walked away leaving Merlin a little confused. What did she meant with 'have fun tonight'?  
_Oh, man…_  
Now Merlin noticed what she was talking about. He completely forgot about the dinner with Morgana, he even forgot to mention it to Arthur; he was so excited about the Round Table and fuzzy with the lately events that his Italian food night with his once great enemy faded away of his memory.  
'You should go, I still have a few papers to read' she said not getting her eyes off the papers.  
'Uh, okay' he stood up from the table he was half sitting 'What's the restaurant adress, by the way?' he asked for some reason feeling a little awkward.  
He was not sure if he really wished to go at a dinner with her; he knew she was not the evil witch that wanted his head in the plate anymore or even the kind and stunning Lady Morgana who made him feel a little awkward sometimes. She was neither now, and it didn't take off the oddest of the situation. It was not a date, of course, goodness why would it be one? But have a formal dinner with Morgana never was something possible to him, when she was not the wicked witch from Camelot she was the King Ward, neither of her status would make it possible.  
Merlin shook his head over all those thoughts. He should be happy that for the first time in years he would be able to talk to her in a formal situation with no attempted murder included.  
'Here' she gave him a small paper. He was not sure when she started to write it; he was completely lost in his thoughts.  
'Thank you' he said keeping the paper in his pocket 'I see you later, then'.  
She nodded a little awkwardly changing her gaze to the papers the faster that she could; it seemed he was not the only one who was a little hesitant about that dinner, but he knew they had reasons for feeling that way.

* * *

Merlin had to take a shower because in his way home a group of teen males throw eggs on him. He was a little grumpy about his egg situation, but he still was laughing with the image of the young boys clucking in their convertible. '_The bright side of have magic'_, he thought. He was used with those types of teenagers, they always liked to bother him when he was old and homeless, it seems that even he youth wouldn't change their behavior over him.  
His room was mess, he couldn't see much because his house had electricity. He rented the apartment for a very low price because he never liked to abuse his magic money. The place was not small, at least for him; it had a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom and a living room; it were a lot of 'rooms' for someone who had past most of his life living on the streets. The only problem was that the place had no electricity, and he couldn't use magic to make it work because it would probably bring suspicions to the owner who lived in front of his door. She was a very grumpy woman who reminds him a lot of Grunhilda; she obviously was not a pixie but she was certainly strange and disgusting. She said that she would only call a electrician if he gave her the money, but he heard she used to take the money to herself giving a fake apology to the tenants saying that the electrician had not done his job well; which was a lie because there was none electrician. After that he understood why anyone seemed to pass much time in that place, the last tenant seemed quite happy in leaving it.  
Nevertheless, Merlin didn't bother in not have energy, he learn to use the actual technology (thanks to a few good friends that he met in his travels) but he didn't think it was useful to him, even though he had to admit he really needed to buy a phone.  
Merlin search for a clean clothe in his dressing mess, but he couldn't find much of it. It had a few underwear cleaned, but the rest of his clothes were all dirty or missed. He didn't had much clothes though, there was only a few days that he became young and social so he still had a lot shop.  
He glanced to the window a little thoughtful before notice the billboard in the outside; there was the picture a man dress up very casual and modern, at least for Merlin, even though he had no sense of fashion. _Okay, that's it! _He was not in the mood to try to find something else so he concreted his eyes in the man's clothes and soon he was dress up just like him. He looked at the mirror; the jeans were feeling quite comfortable while his long sleeve shirt was fitting him quite well, he thought.  
Perhaps it was a little too much for the dinner, or not, he was not sure, he never went to a restaurant that young before.

* * *

When Merlin first saw the name of the restaurant he got breathless; it was there, wrote above the entrance: 'Eldor'. He had no clue why the Italian restaurant would have this name but he could not stop to feel a little emotional about it. He missed the place that he grown up, but most importantly he missed his mother.

* * *

.

Morgana was studying the menu alone in one of the restaurant's table. The place felt very comfortable and warm and the food seemed very good as well; even though she had to eat to really judge.  
She was glad that the place made her feel better; a half hour early she almost had another faint, this time she didn't feel the pain in her stomach, but she felt a very weird sensation, it seemed it had something crazy to get out of her body, like a painful scream but it was not it.  
'Hi' the clumsy said beside the table, she was not sure how long he was standing there but she was glad that she was not alone with her thoughts anymore.  
'Oh, hi' she said, noticing the way the guy was dressed. He was not dressing the almost ripped clothes that she was used to see him dress, no, his clothes seemed very new and modern and even his hair was brushed in a more casual way. She only hoped he hadn't dress up like that because he was misunderstanding their dinner.  
_'No, he's not; Morgana, don't listen to Gwen, she has no idea what she's talking about_' an almost voice (it sounded more like a feeling, though) came up in her head.  
'You had no need to change, it is only a simple dinner' she stated, but trying to not sound rude.  
He looked at himself in a quick movement and then chuckled.  
'Oh, no; I was not planning it, it's just that in my way home a group of teenagers throw eggs on me and I had to take a shower'  
'That's terrible' she said in a kind way.  
'It's okay, I'm used with it' he said taking his seat.  
'Why would you be used with it?' she asked with curiosity while watching him carefully.  
The clumsy guy seemed a little disturbed with the question, like he was hiding something very important about his life.  
'I-I used to be bullied at school, that's all' he said taking the menu.  
She didn't believe in his excuse but decided to not ask anything else about it; she didn't want to sound nosy, that was a Gwen thing not hers.  
It was weird, she actually was very curious about the guy's life but at the same time she didn't want to know much about it because she would end up getting closer of him, and that was not something she wanted. Well, she didn't want it but she had to admit she was acting very against her wishes; it was her who invited him to a dinner in first place. She cursed herself for that the whole week, but now she had no option except to try to enjoy the situation somehow. Anyways, why was that a bad thing? He seemed nice, right? No, for some reason it was not that simple for her; that guy was different, he was not trustful. But why was him not trustful?  
'So, are you tired of reading papers?' he asked getting her out of her confusing thoughts.  
'Not much, I'm used with it' she answered still looking at the menu, she was not paying attention to it, she only needed somewhere look to not be forced to look in the guy's eyes.  
She had no idea why that guy made her feel so uncomfortable.  
'So you didn't feel sick again?' he asked.  
'No' she lied not in the mood to mention her recent illness 'It was only a fever, I think you guys are being a little exaggerate about it'  
'I'm glad you're feeling better, but it was not a simple fever; I already saw fevers like that, it could had cause a lot of damage. I believe you should be careful and tell Gaius anything you might feel' he said in a very convinced tone. He also sounded a little worried, but once again it was hard to believe in the honesty of his feelings.  
'Who are you now? My doctor?' she mocked maliciously but regretting such act right after; she had no reasons to be treating the guy like that.  
'My uncle was a physician, I used to watch him treating persons when I was younger' he answered in a serious tone, a tone that she was not used to hear from him, but that sounded oddly familiar.  
Morgana shrugged  
'Why didn't you studied medicine, then?' she asked, trying to sound the most soft possible, she had to stop treating him that bad for no good reason.  
'I never had talent to it, I know the basic but I don't think I would be a great doctor' he said playing with the salt shaker a little thoughtful.  
'So you decided to study History and Chemistry, instead?'  
'Yes' he answered 'Gwen told me you like it as well'  
'Yes, but I never studied it. I think it's more like a hobby for me'  
A woman moved toward their table; she didn't seem a waiter, for what Morgana had noticed she was the owner and she was approaching a few customers in their table. She had a very warm smile in her face.  
'Hi, welcome to Eldor I hope you both are having a good time in our restaurant. Are you ready to order?' she asked sweetly.  
Morgana smiled back and then noticed the strange reaction of her company; his mouth was half opened, and he was looking at the woman with wide eyes; Morgana could swear he was about to sob.  
'Are you alright, dear?' the woman asked, in an almost fraternal tone.  
He cleaned his throat but didn't say a thing.  
'He's just passing through a tough moment. Can you bring us a glass of water, please?' Morgana asked trying to ease the situation.  
The woman nodded sweetly, and walked away with fast steps.  
Morgana took a deep breath while the guy, for some reason, seemed too much shocked to say or even do anything.  
'I know it's only a week that we had met each other, but you almost saved my life in this short time and I feel like I owe you a lot' she was not sure if he was listening, his eyes were stuck at the table like he had just seen a ghost 'If you need anything you can ask me; and if you want to open yourself to someone you can count on me whenever you need' she said giving him a warm smile.  
There were silently tears falling from his red eyes, he seemed like a little child who had lost his mother in the supermarket. Watch him in such situation (twice in the same day) made her feel two complete different feelings; the first was compassion, she wanted to comfort him somehow; well, there was a normal reaction to any human being with a heart, she thought. The second was horrible; she had no idea why she felt that and she cursed herself for it; it was joy; some dark side of her was pleasant in see him in that pitiful situation. It was that terrible feeling that encouraged her to comfort him somehow; she didn't wish to that dark feeling took over her heart and mind.  
Morgana held his hand in hers even though it felt like his skin could burn hers any moment. Gwen always held her hand like that and it always worked to easy her heart, she hope that he could feel better with it as well.  
'Here' the woman said offering him the water.  
He looked at her with his eyes still wet, tears falling in his cheek. He took the glass of water taking his hand off Morgana's and making her feel for some reason relieved over the fact that his skin was no longer touching hers.  
'Thank you' he finally said with a smile, a really wide smile for someone who was crying.  
'If you need anything else you can call me, okay?' she said.  
The guy nodded and watched her walk away. There was silence, she waited to him drink his water.  
'I'm passing through a hard transition right now, you might say' he finally said 'It's like my past is coming back, and I'm not sure how to deal with it'.  
He was not looking to her, his eyes was fixed in the table.  
'And that lady reminds you someone?' she asked.  
'Yes, my mother' he answered finally looking at her 'I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you with my emotional problems, you don't have to deal with me like this' he said straightening in his chair and smiling a little awkwardly.  
'I really meant what I said, you can count on me whenever you need' she said and she noticed some sort of sadness in his eyes when he looked back to her.  
He nodded and she said:  
'Well, I think it is better to us order something'

* * *

.  
'So you almost killed Arthur when you were kid just because of a doll?' he asked chuckling.  
They were now walking down the streets laughing over Morgana, Arthur and Gwen (for his surprise) stories of when they were kids.  
That night had being full of surprises for him; the biggest that was still stuck in his mind was the fact that his mother was alive, but why? He didn't care, Merlin was incredibly glad in see his mother's face again, but broke his heart to know that he would never be able to hold her like a son, to talk to her like her son; it was painful to know that he was not her son anymore; but just the fact that she was there, hopefully happy, alive and not far from him warmed his heart.  
'I was certain that he kidnapped Lady Olivia , so I yelled at him above the stairs, but different of his conclusion I did not push him; he fail by himself I did nothing' she said, watching the street above them.  
She had told him that Gwen and her loved to play that they were in the medieval era when they were kids; they even called themselves (and everyone else) as "Lady" and "Lord", even their toys. He found it very funny and adorable but he was also concern about those connections with their past life, mostly about Morgana.  
'Sure' he laughed in disbelief.  
Morgana was his second surprise of the night. She was acting very nicely, and she even comforted him twice at the same day. A lot of times during their conversations she reminds him old Morgana, the Lady Morgana; at the same time she was different, it was confusing but he appreciated the time with her, it was an odd thing to admit but it was the truth.  
'What's that?' she asked looking to a dark alley a few steps away from them.  
She stepped forward but he held her wrist quickly.  
'What are you doing?' he asked.  
'There's something there; I just want to know what it is' she said, sounding very determined.  
'It can be dangerous Morgana, let's keep walking' he said a little concerned about the alley.  
'I'll be okay, and don't act like you care' she said bitterly, but quickly regretting her words; he could say that by the way her expression changed. For a moment he could swear that her evil side was back, even if it was for a brief moment.  
Merlin looked into her green eyes; she didn't change her glance this time, even though he was feeling she could do that any moment.  
'Why wouldn't I?' he asked, wishing an answer for her strange behavior since they had met. He knew she didn't know the answer, but perhaps know what she was feeling would help him to know if it was possible to her memories come back someday. He truly hoped not.  
Her expression had a brief of hurt and confusion. Merlin had no idea what was happening in her mind at that moment, but he noticed how fuzzy it probably was.  
'I wished I knew how to answer you that' she said with a trembling voice.  
Morgana looked down quickly, at first he thought she was avoiding his eyes again but then he noticed that it was not what was happening; there was a familiar white cat rubbing Morgana's legs.  
'Aithusa?' he asked surprised and really glad in see the disguised dragon after all those months.

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**Thank you much everyone who's reading it! It means the world to me!**

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**Meli: Thank you for the support! I hope you like this one when you read it! :)**

**Guest: Thank you for the review! There still a lot of Morgana and Uther's past to be told, believe me.**

**PsalmReader: Thank you so much! There will more conversations about Arthur and his family. Alvarr and Sarrum will be back that I can tell you and Morgana suspicions over Agravaine will grow even more. About Arthur, I believe that the next chapter will be a start.**

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**I was planning this chapter a certain time ago and I changed a few things that I was first planning, but I hope you guys liked it!**

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**To the next chapter… This time I can promise you Mergana, Aithusa and Arwen! Yes, Arwen ;)**


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